UNFPA, the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and the International Telecommunication Union are pleased to announce their first ever Joint Innovation Challenge 2022.
UNFPA's mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The Joint Innovation Challenge 2022 supports this mission by promoting innovative solutions to challenges in women's empowerment, reproductive health and gender-based violence.
Challenge Overview
The Joint Innovation Challenge 2022 will fund women-centered innovations, including those that provide women with access to reproductive health care in humanitarian settings, or scale up prevention and response to gender-based violence. The challenge aims to scale projects that disrupt gender inequalities and advance the empowerment of women and girls around the world.
The ten winners of the challenge will sign a nine-month contract and receive investments of up to $60,000. UNFPA and its partners will further provide them with targeted mentorship, training opportunities, interactive workshops, and unique access to the UN network to help them bring their ideas to scale.
Eligibility Criteria
- Proposal must be aligned with UNFPA's goals and mission
- Applicant must be registered and operate in a UNFPA programme country
- Applicant must have created an existing prototype, pilot, and Minimum Viable Product
- Proposal must include a viable and sustainable pathway to scale
Application Process
- Expressions of Interest can be submitted on our website
Timeline
- April 15th: Deadline for Expressions of Interest
- April 30st: Selected candidates are invited to submit Requests for Proposal
- May 25th: Deadline for Requests for Proposal
- June 2022: Live pitch event with 20 Finalists; announcement of 10 Awardees
- July 2022: Virtual bootcamp with awardees and mentors
- July 2022 to March 2023: Positioning to scale; ongoing mentorship and check-ins
- March 2023: End of challenge
