World Bank/Wharton School Ideas for Action Competition 2018

Deadline: February 28, 2018

The Ideas for Action Competition 2018 is now open. The youth competition is a joint program of the World Bank and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the Wharton School centered around financing sustainable development. Every year, students and young professionals from around the world participate to design ideas for financing and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

The competition is intended to help catalyze a global conversation among young people all around the world. Conversations happen virtually, over social media networks, and in person, and they hope that you will engage with others who share your passion for international development.

Winners of the competition present their ideas during the IMF & World Bank Annual Meetings, receive support from a dedicated startup accelerator at the Wharton School, and benefit from unique networking opportunities with other young leaders as well as some of the most senior decision-makers in international development, academia, and the private sector.

Awards

The finalists and winners will be selected by a panel of academics and experienced development professionals from public and private sector institutions. Winners of the competition get the opportunity to:

• Present their ideas at an event during the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group,
• Receive support from a project incubator at the Wharton School, and
• Benefit from unique networking opportunities with experts from international development, academia, and the private sector.

Eligibility

• Students and young professionals from around the world are invited participate;
• Entrants should be between the ages of 14-18 years and 18-35 years;
• Teams must consist of two to six members and may be formed across different schools, institutions, companies, countries, nationalities, etc.

Application

• Proposals must be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF format here.
• Your proposal should include the following:
  • Title and team name
  • Short abstract
  • Explanation of the problem and context: Briefly describe the problem that your proposal is addressing.
  • Your solution: Succinctly describe your idea (including design, target population, stakeholders, incentives, and implementation)
  • Expected impact: Why is it relevant?
  • Are there similar examples? If so, where and how?
  • Challenges: What are challenges you might face and how can they be addressed?

Timeline

• Deadline for proposal submissions: February 28, 2018 at 11:59PM (PST)
• Announcement of submissions selected for the final round: Early April 2018
• Announcement of winners: May 31, 2018

For more information, visit Ideas for Action Competition.