2023 Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge
0
Days Left
to Enter

Welcome to the St.Thomas Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge!

The Fowler GSIC is a social venture learning experience for students, professionals, and entrepreneurs, the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge has connected more than 2,500 innovators from 17 countries around the world - including Australia, South Korea, Rwanda, Ireland, Mexico, and Peru - recognizing their outstanding social ventures based on positive impact and financial sustainability.


The Challenge invites teams to engage with one or more of the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Applicants can address any social or environmental problem of their choice as long as it is aligned with at least one of the Global Goals.

Requirements: Interested applicants must submit to the St.Thomas Business Plan competition, then share a summary of their social venture here on the FGSIC submission portal to be considered for the FGSIC award Submissions may be to 3 to 5 pages maximum. For additional information on round 1 requirements, please view the attached rubric and the detailed checklist. A high-level summary of the checklist is included below. 

Eligibility: Any current student of St. Thomas can compete in the FGSIC individually or as part of a team (with a maximum of five members per team). Alumni are welcome to compete. If an alumni team advances to the June Global Finals, they must have at least one team member that is a current undergraduate or graduate student at the time of participation. The rest of the team may be students/alumni of St.Thomas, another participating university, another non-participating institute, or not be a student at all.

Round 1 (Problem + Solution Summary): Submission Checklist

1) Problem Area
• Which SDG and specific focus area are you addressing?
• Have you described what you have learned about the problem, its key underlying causes and societal impact?

2) Current Solutions
• Who is delivering these solutions (commercial ventures/nonprofits/government agencies)?
• How do these solutions work? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

3) Target Market/Beneficiaries
• What happens to this person/group as they experience the problem and what are the key pain points?
• What is the impact or outcome of the problem on them and why are current solutions not meeting their needs?

4) Solutions Landscape Gap Analysis
• What needs does your target population have that aren’t being met by current solutions?
• What market opportunities might exist for innovation?

5) Proposed Solution
• What specific need(s) will you address for your target market/group, and why does meeting that need matter?
• What is your unique solution – How will it work and how is it better and more effective than anything else out in the market?

6) Primary & Secondary Research
• What sources have you drawn from?
• Have you properly cited referenced works in your paper?