Blockchain Social Impact Challenge by Summit Institute & CoreTech Foundation

Challenge Overview

The Blockchain Social Impact Challenge, powered by the Summit Institute and the CoreTech Foundation, invites the world to submit ideas in the form of well-defined proposals to solve a social issue using blockchain technology. All questions identified below must be answered to qualify for the Challenge. The winning entrepreneur will attend Summit at Sea, the premiere gathering of entrepreneurs and thought-leaders of our time, taking place from November 9-12, 2016 Summit at Sea offers endless opportunities for next generation social/tech ideas and concepts. The Summit community is filled with innovative entrepreneurs, social activists, investors and public figures who can bring the required resources to the table to turn ideas into real social enterprises.

The Problem

How would you use blockchain technology for social good? The CoreTech Foundation and the Summit Institute are challenging you to submit your best idea to help address a social problem by leveraging the power of the blockchain. We are looking for creative and innovative ways to use this technology to help make the world a better place.

The Challenge Breakthrough

We're committed to advancing some social cause in a meaningful and sustainable way using the power of blockchain technology.

The Prize

As noted above, the winning entrepreneur will attend Summit at Sea, the premiere gathering of entrepreneurs and thought-leaders of our time, taking place from November 9-12, 2016 Summit at Sea offers endless opportunities for next generation social/tech ideas and concepts. The Summit community is filled with innovative entrepreneurs, social activists, investors and public figures who can bring the required resources to the table to turn ideas into real social enterprises.

What You Can Do To Cause A Breakthrough

• Click "Follow the Challenge" above to be notified of any status updates to the challenge.
• Click "Yes Sign Me Up!" above to register for the challenge. You will be notified of any status updates and be able to create an entry to the challenge when it opens.
• Click on the "Share" button or social media icons above to share this challenge with your friends, your family, or anyone you know who has a passion for discovery.
• Leave a comment in our Comments Thread to join the conversation, ask questions or connect with other innovators.

What is Blockchain Technology?

The Blockchain is a software-based permissionless public ledger of ownership and value transfer between individuals and companies. Ownership can constitute anything, including: property, medical records, currency, invoices, equity tranches, etc.  Some of the key features of the blockchain include the following:

• It is highly and widely available (i.e. it doesn’t crash and you can use it as long as you have a internet connection)
• It is theoretically unhackable (i.e. no one can steal what you have unless you enable them to steal from you)
• Anyone can use it to send new transactions and verify existing transactions of value  

Learn more about the blockchain here, here, here, and here. 

Purpose of the Challenge

We want to help change the world by delivering a solution that becomes commonplace, changing the welfare of an entire population, and solve issues that affect humanity. We also believe in the power of the blockchain and want to leverage that power for greater social impact. 

Challenge Hosts

About HeroX: HeroX was co-founded in 2013 by XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis, challenge designer Emily Fowler and entrepreneur Christian Cotichini as a means to democratize the innovation model of XPRIZE. HeroX exists to enable anyone, anywhere in the world, to create a challenge that addresses any problem or opportunity, build a community around that challenge and activate the circumstances that can lead to a breakthrough innovation. Learn more at herox.com.

About the Summit Institute: The Summit Institute (SI) is the nonprofit arm of The Summit Series. SI’s platform serves in conjunction with our already strong social mission, allowing us to formally take action when problems arise that resonate strongly with our extended global community. Learn more at summitinstitute.com.

About the CoreTech Foundation: The CoreTech Foundation helps nonprofits use technology for social good. Thanks to the open source movement, we're placing traditionally expensive and sophisticated technology in the hands of the nonprofit world, so they can implement virtually any software-driven solution using our scaling platform and consulting services. To that end, CoreTech built an application platform called CORE, to help build solutions capable of impacting lives around the world, like this, this, and this. Learn more at coretechfoundation.org.

Trust image via Shutterstock

Purpose of the Challenge

We want to help change the world by delivering a solution that becomes commonplace, changing the welfare of an entire population, and solve issues that affect humanity. We also believe in the power of the blockchain and want to leverage that power for greater social impact. 

Challenge Questions / Judging Criteria 

1. The Problem (10 points)

• What is the problem that your idea aims to solve? 
• Who is affected by the problem?
• What is currently being done about it?

2. The Solution (30 points)

• What is the potential impact of your solution? 
• Who would it help? Where? How?
• Please provide concrete examples of its application.
• If you have already tested the solution, please provide details.

3. Role of Blockchain Technology (30 points)

• How does your solution leverage blockchain technology to address the issue you've identified? Please be as detailed as possible. 

4. Unique Components (10 points)

• What makes your solution different from existing solutions that aim to address this problem? 

Rules

Who can participate: As mentioned above, the Challenge is open to individuals and teams. To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the Challenge as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement.

Selection of Winner: Based on the winning criteria, the winner will receive a ticket to attend Summit at Sea, the premiere gathering of entrepreneurs and thoughtleaders of our time, taking place from November 9-12, 2016, and an opportunity to bring their idea to the boat. The prize is valued at approximately $6,000 USD. In case of a tie, the winner will be selected at the discretion of the Judging Panel.

Voting: All votes are subject to review. Any competitor using unfair methods to solicit votes will be automatically disqualified from the challenge.

Registration and Submissions: All submission materials must be submitted online on or before [TBD] at 8pm PST. No submissions will be accepted after this time. Incomplete submissions will not be accepted. All submissions must be received online, via the Challenge website, and all uploads can be in PDF format only. Submission reporting requirements are detailed in Judging.

Challenge Guidelines are subject to change. Registered competitors will receive notification when changes are made, however, we highly encourage you to visit the Challenge Site often to review updates.

Challenge Hosts

About HeroX: HeroX was co-founded in 2013 by XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis, challenge designer Emily Fowler and entrepreneur Christian Cotichini as a means to democratize the innovation model of XPRIZE. HeroX exists to enable anyone, anywhere in the world, to create a challenge that addresses any problem or opportunity, build a community around that challenge and activate the circumstances that can lead to a breakthrough innovation. Learn more at herox.com.

About the Summit Institute: The Summit Institute (SI) is the nonprofit arm of The Summit Series. SI’s platform serves in conjunction with our already strong social mission, allowing us to formally take action when problems arise that resonate strongly with our extended global community. Learn more at summitinstitute.com.

About the CoreTech Foundation: The CoreTech Foundation helps nonprofits use technology for social good. Thanks to the open source movement, we're placing traditionally expensive and sophisticated technology in the hands of the nonprofit world, so they can implement virtually any software-driven solution using our scaling platform and consulting services. To that end, CoreTech built an application platform called CORE, to help build solutions capable of impacting lives around the world, like this, this, and this. Learn more at coretechfoundation.org.

Trust image via Shutterstock