WASHINGTON (PRWEB) October 17, 2017
The Innovation Next Awards, founded by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (The National Campaign), is now accepting entries of innovative technology interventions focused on preventing teen pregnancy. The program will award up to $80,000 to five teams to design interventions. The last round of winners was announced in 2016.
The Innovation Next Awards funds new ways to influence behavior change through the use of technology. Each winning team will receive:
- Up to $80,000 in funding;
- Immersive workshops on design thinking—often defined as a human-centered approach to innovation—from renowned design and innovation firm IDEO; and
- An opportunity to use design thinking as a framework to determine best approaches for their idea starting with field research.
“Innovation Next is committed to nurturing creative, diverse, and ultimately effective ideas for preventing teen pregnancy through the use of technology,” said Ginny Ehrlich, CEO of The National Campaign. “Our hope is that working with people from different fields, with different skills and perspectives, will ensure that all young women and men will be accounted for when it comes to managing their sexual health and family planning and have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to become pregnant.”
The National Campaign has had a great deal of success using design thinking in the development of Bedsider.org, our pregnancy prevention intervention tailored to 18- to 29-year-old women. Bedsider is a website, a mobile app, a vibrant social media community, a college campus outreach program, and an effective birth control resource for medical providers and their patients. It is the largest birth control support network in the country that welcomes more than 10 million visitors annually, and provides accurate and unbiased information on birth control and sexual health.
The National Campaign, along with key partners like IDEO, hopes that the Innovation Next Awards will build off of Bedsider’s success and encourage the use of design thinking leading to successful approaches using technology for teen pregnancy prevention.
The submission period runs through November 14, 2017. Entries may be submitted at http://www.InnovationNext.org. Professionals from all backgrounds with a wide variety of experience and expertise are welcome.
About The Innovation Next Awards: This opportunity is made possible by Grant Number TP2AH000023-01-00 from the HHS Office of Adolescent Health. Contents are solely the responsibility of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Adolescent Health. Learn more at http://www.InnovationNext.org.
About The National Campaign: The National Campaign is a private, non-profit organization that seeks to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families by preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy. Please visit http://www.TheNationalCampaign.org to find out more.