International Labour Organisation SDG 8.7 Innovation Challenge 2021

The ILO is launching a competition calling for innovative solutions with social impact to accelerate action towards SDG Target 8.7.

ILO, as the Secretariat of Alliance 8.7 – a global inclusive partnership to achieve SDG Target 8.7 – launched a competition calling for all innovators who are passionate about bringing new ideas to develop innovative solutions with social impact to support Pathfinder Countries to accelerate action towards SDG Target 8.7. Pathfinder Countries are an integral part of the Alliance 8.7. This community of 25 countries have committed to accelerate efforts and to try new approaches from which others can learn to achieve SDG Target 8.7’s urgent deadlines.

As part of this initiative, the ILO is inviting the innovators community to participate in the SDG 8.7 Innovation Challenge to bring new ideas to create Digital Information Systems for collaborative work to end child labour, forced labour and human trafficking. The challenge focuses on Alliance 8.7 pathfinder countries as beneficiaries; however, proposals with innovative solutions can come from all over the world.

Prizes

• Financial Support: USD $30,000 to develop and implement the proposed solution. One winning digital innovation proposal will be chosen to receive additional support from the from Research to Action Project to implement their project of up to USD 20,000 if it includes a compelling plan for innovative financing or shows the greatest potential for scaling up to other national contexts, through innovation financing mechanisms.
• Access to Technical Support: winning proposals will receive technical support to turn their ideas into ready-to-implement prototypes.
• Pilot: Once the prototype is developed, innovators and partners will test the solution through a pilot test in selected countries.
• Visibility: winning proposals will benefit from global communication efforts including an invitation to a global event at the end of the year where the innovative idea will be presented to a wide range of stakeholders and to the next Global Conference on Child Labour in May 2022.
• Access to a wide network of experts in the area: winning ideas and shortlisted proposals will be invited to join an Innovation Network including a series of Regional Innovation Sandbox events. Through the network, members will have the opportunity to exchange with other innovators, to share their solutions with Alliance 8.7 partners, and hold regular discussions about different SDG Target 8.7-related challenges that could act as a basis for future innovation challenge calls for proposals, hackathons, and other innovation initiatives. The regional innovation sandbox workshops will respond to problems faced by countries in the effort to fill in gaps and tackle resourcing challenges to enhance policy action.

Eligibility

Alliance 8.7 welcomes applications from its partners and from any individual or any formally constituted and registered organization/company. By organizations, they mean government agencies, NGOs and civil society organizations, public and private enterprises, regional and sectoral bodies and research organizations, cooperatives, education and training institutions including universities.

• The idea to be submitted can be a joint collaborative effort by several stakeholders of those described above: in such cases, a project leader should be identified to coordinate with the ILO as the Secretariat of Alliance 8.7.
• Ideas and solutions at any stage of development are welcome. These can be innovations at an early stage or at a more advanced stage.
• Solutions can come from any country in the world; they should, however, target pathfinder countries. These can focus on a single country solution or have a regional/subregional approach.
• NGOs and civil society organizations, private enterprises, research organizations, cooperatives, education and training institutions including universities participating to the global challenge are eligible and encouraged to include a proposal for innovative financing mechanisms.

How To Apply

• Step 1: Before submitting a solution, carefully read the previous sections with the eligibility criteria or go through the guidelines that includes all the relevant information.
• Step 2: Access the application platform before August 15, 2021 (11:59 Geneva time). After this time, applications will be closed.
• Step 3: The applicant will have to sign in using an existing Microsoft, Facebook or Google account or creating a new account on Teams Ideas by clicking on “sign up now”.
• Step 4: Once logged in successfully, you can edit your profile settings by clicking on your name (top right of the page). Here you can add your name, contact details and a picture.
• Step 5: Use the arrows in the slider to find the Challenge page in your preferred language (the call is available in English, French, and Spanish) and click on “Add idea”.
• Step 6: On the Challenge page, download the Application Form that is under the Attachments section on the right.
• Step 7: To submit your idea add a title and a short description of your proposal and click on save. Once saved, your idea will appear on the top of the list. Attach the duly filled application form, and other relevant documents, by clicking on the attachment icon.
• Step 8: You can edit your application by clicking on the three dots on the right and/or in the attachment icon under the description of your idea.

Proposals can be submitted in English, French and Spanish. No fee is required to participate in the SDG 8.7 Innovation Challenge. Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their application has been received. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

For more information, visit SDG 8.7 Innovation Challenge

Application Deadline: August 15, 2021

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