Nobel Prize Summit Campaign FAQ
Applications to this campaign are now closed. Thank you to all those that applied.
Q: Who can apply?
Anyone can apply, including individuals, organisations, and teams from all over the world. This includes research teams and academia. However, it is important that the applicant be the creator, or a central part of the team that created or manages the digital solution or concept.
Q: What will selected applicants receive?
Selected applicants will have their solutions showcased at the Nobel Prize Summit to both the physical audience in Washington D.C. as well as those joining virtually.
In addition to the recognition of having their solutions highlighted at the Nobel Prize Summit, selected applicants will receive between $5,000 and $10,000 USD in funding, as well as matchmaking and networking opportunities with funders and relevant policymakers. Those selected for the existing solutions category will also have the opportunity to be featured in the UNDP’s Digital X Solution Catalogue, which can help foster further uptake and adoption globally.
Q: How do I apply?
Please see this link for access to the submission forms. There are two categories (existing open-source solutions and open-source concepts) so please ensure you submit to the appropriate category.
Q: What if my idea or solution is at an earlier stage?
We encourage all solutions and concepts, regardless of the stage of their development, to make a submission. If you have an existing open-source solution that has been used before, even if it is not very mature, please submit it to the existing solutions category.
If your solution is still in the conceptual or ideation phase, in that it has never been implemented or may not have a codebase, please submit it to the concept category.
Q: Who will select the successful submissions?
An expert advisory panel, comprised of experienced professionals with a proven track record in combating information pollution in various regions, will be convened by co-chairs Alice Munyua, Senior Director, Africa Mradi, Mozilla Corporation and Nicole Tisdale, Principal, Advocacy Blueprints and former Director, The White House National Security Council, to evaluate and select the most promising submissions. All members of the panel are listed on this page.
Q: What is the role of UNDP’s Digital X?
Digital X exists to make scaling digital solutions across borders faster, easier, and safer in the 170 countries that UNDP operates. An emergent priority for UNDP is to scale up what already works, reduce duplication, and improve coordination across development actors. Digital X supports scaling digital solutions from not only UNDP, but also from UN agencies, social enterprises, private sector, nonprofits, NGOs, universities, and more.
The existing solutions selected will potentially have the opportunity to be featured in their Digital X Solution Catalogue, receive matchmaking support for new projects, and possible ad hoc mentorship.
Q:What type of solutions or concepts are you looking for?
We are interested in a wide array of open-source solutions and concepts so long as they are relevant to combating information pollution and enhancing information integrity. The application process is by design not meant to be limiting or prescriptive to specific solutions only. If you feel your solution is relevant, please don’t hesitate to apply!
We hope to get applicants’ help in understanding what the most impactful approaches and solutions can be – including new approaches that have not been tried before so long as applicant can demonstrate high relevance.
Examples of potential types of concepts and solutions based on what we have heard so far could include concepts and solutions for fact checking, moderation, bot and deepfake detection, but can also include normative alternatives to today’s main social media and communication platforms; tools that can enable alternative business models for media; as well as tools for research on information pollution.
In addition to those with a general interest in the topic, we believe that stakeholders who have faced the challenge of information pollution in specific thematic areas (e.g. vaccination campaigns, enabling climate action, protecting election integrity) can also have very valuable concepts and solutions.
Q: Do submissions need to be open source?
Yes, submissions must be either existing open-source solutions or concepts where the plan is for the resulting future solution to have an open-source component. See here for an approved list of open-source licences.
Q: Do submissions need to be verified digital public goods as well?
No, while the initiative is being co-organised by the Digital Public Goods Alliance, submissions do not need to be officially designated as digital public goods at the time of submission.
We do, however, encourage current digital public goods software to apply.
For more information on what digital public goods are please visit the DPG Registry
Q: Can multiple submissions be made?
Yes, multiple submissions are allowed to either category.
Q: Is a concept note required for the concept category
No, only the questions in the submission form are required and will be considered initially. The selection team may ask for additional information at a later point.
Q: From a technical perspective, are there specific requirements in regards to the interface language and/or NLP models of an existing solution being submitted?
Solutions and all of their core components should also be open and well documented, and without proprietary dependencies or closed-source datasets for training AI models, etc.
Q: Who do I contact if I have more questions?
Please submit questions to hello@digitalpublicgoods.net with the subject line Digital Public Goods for Information Integrity by 20 March at midnight UTC. All answers will be responded to directly within a week and all answers will be posted on this FAQ by 24 March.