GHR Foundation and OpenIDEO Launch Third BridgeBuildertm to Identify Radical Ideas to Help Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People

MINNEAPOLIS, July 2, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In collaboration with open innovation platform OpenIDEO, Minneapolis-based GHR Foundation has launched its third annual BridgeBuildertm, awarding $1 million to the best ideas that address urgent global issues in radically new ways.

This year's challenge focus, People on the Move, will invite social innovators and individuals with experience of displacement to come together to address challenges faced by migrants, refugees, and displaced people as well as host communities. The challenge will be a collaborative process that aims to identify promising ideas that promote meaningful engagement, greater social cohesion and sustainable, community-led change.

Submissions are open from July 2nd-August 17th, with Top Ideas announced in mid-November following a refinement process using human-centered design. Top Ideas will each receive a share of $1 million in seed funding from GHR Foundation and will join a cohort of innovative organisations working to address urgent needs.

This year, BridgeBuilder launches in response to the more than 70.8 million men, women and children who are currently forcibly displaced worldwide. With more people on the move today than in the past 70 years, and with women and children disproportionately impacted, the 2019 Challenge invites social innovators and currently or previously displaced persons to design approaches that enable individuals to create a life of meaning, filled with hope and dignity, and to support host communities in being their most welcoming.

Entrants are requested to consider the following question:

How might we, as people on the move and neighbours, build bridges
to a shared future of stability and promise?

In 2018, BridgeBuilder gathered 690 collaborative, principles-based, community-rooted, people-centered solutions, all building bridges in unique, innovative ways. These were narrowed down to five Top Ideas, which convened in Rome for a design-build workshop with GHR and OpenIDEO.

The 2018 Top Ideas include:

• This is My Backyard (TIMBY) - Equipping indigenous peoples with mobile technology to protect land rights in Kenya
• Found in Translation - Empowering bilingual women as medical interpreters to fight healthcare disparities in Boston, USA
• Producers Direct - Unleashing the potential of rural youth to drive sustainable small- scale agriculture in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
• War Child Canada - Investing in young peace-building entrepreneurs via cash transfers and start-up grants in South Sudan
• My Choices Foundation - Facilitating women-led community transformation for families facing domestic violence in India

Amy Goldman, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of GHR Foundation, said, "The opportunity for meaningful engagement with people on the move is immense, and BridgeBuilder seeks to harness the hospitality and solidarity that lies within each of the 7 billion humans on our planet. GHR is proud to launch this third BridgeBuilder, which builds on each of our previous challenges that have sought new approaches to solve pressing global issues at the intersections of peace, prosperity, and planet."

Jason Rissman, managing director of OpenIDEO, added, "We've been so inspired by the global response to BridgeBuilder the past two years. The creativity infused in the ideas has been outstanding, as has been the impact of these bold innovators on their respective communities. I look forward to welcoming the next generation of BridgeBuilders in the third challenge and continuing to grow this important movement."

To participate in this year's Challenge, please visit: GHRfoundation.org/BridgeBuilder

Entries open July 2nd and close August 17th 2019.

Notes to Editors

Challenge Process

During the Ideas Phase, BridgeBuilder calls on the global community to share approaches that bring people together to address urgent challenges faced by people on the move. The proposals do not need to be perfect or fully polished?in fact, early entry in the Ideas phase will allow teams to iterate and improve an idea through community engagement. Throughout this Phase, participants are encouraged to include voices of people with experience of displacement in their communities to design ideas and provide feedback.

Currently and previously displaced people will help select a shortlist of submitted ideas to move into the Expert Feedback Phase, where teams will have the opportunity to be matched with experts with lived experience and from various fields to gather feedback and additional insights. After expert feedback, the Improve Phase gives each team three weeks to apply the expert feedback to their proposal, finalize and resubmit it along with a project budget.

Top Ideas will be announced in mid-November and receive seed funding and post-Challenge support from GHR, as well as connection opportunities with other BridgeBuilders and OpenIDEO.

Selected top ideas will:

• Receive a share of $1 million in seed funding from GHR Foundation
• Join a BridgeBuilder cohort of innovative organizations working to address urgent needs
• Take part in a kick-off workshop, during which they will meet other social innovators and further design and build their approaches with tools and expertise from GHR and OpenIDEO
• Receive ongoing partnership support from GHR, potential connection to other funder networks, and media exposure

Submission Guidelines

Ideas are invited from individuals and teams currently or previously experiencing displacement as well as registered nonprofit, civil society, community-based, and for-profit organizations working anywhere in the world.

• Actionable and tangible: Idea must be actionable and build tangible results in the community of focus, rather than research, convenings, policy development, or advocacy.
• Within scope: Idea must be implemented within a 36-month timeline and within a budget up to US$200,000.
• Representative: Idea must show evidence that the voice and perspective of a person currently or previously experiencing displacement is part of the ideation, process, and project.

About OpenIDEO

As IDEO's open innovation practice, OpenIDEO enables people worldwide to come together and build solutions for today's toughest societal problems. Online and around the globe, OpenIDEO works with world-class partners to convene diverse communities that collectively develop ideas and accelerate social innovation. OpenIDEO's platform expands on the power of crowdsourcing, equipping participants with resources, connections, and design tools to create real impact. After tackling over 50 topics ranging from food waste to girls' education to Ebola, people everywhere are designing a better future with OpenIDEO. http://www.openideo.com

About GHR Foundation

GHR Foundation accelerates bold and better approaches that create conditions for the most vulnerable people to thrive. For 50-plus years, GHR has been pioneering design-build philanthropy as it collaborates with community experts to design and build opportunities and favourable environments for change to take hold. The Foundation designed BridgeBuilder to be a powerful movement for good?a unifier and lever for social change, and a driver for bridging between people, issues, networks, and resources. http://www.GHRfoundation.org

SOURCE GHR Foundation