About Course
Impact Innovation Lab is Now Accepting Applications for Fourth Cohort!
Think Big, Act Bold! Achieve Social Innovation for Poverty Alleviation! The local social incubation programme – Impact Innovation Lab (The Lab) is now accepting applications for its Fourth Cohort from today until 30th April 2024. As an incubator, The Lab aims to help participants execute social innovation projects to alleviate poverty, promote social inclusion, foster well being and cohesion of society. Not only will participants receive all-around support in training, consulting, resources from a makerspace, and commercial referrals, but they will also have a chance to receive seed funding to actualise their visions step by step. Since the start of this programme, 17 projects have been selected to be awarded Seed Funding.
Impact Innovation Lab is organised by MakerBay Foundation and funded by The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund). The Fourth Cohort puts its focus on the pressing poverty issues and the needs of vulnerable groups, especially sub-divided flat residents, single parent families and elderly, aiming to achieve targeted poverty alleviation. This programme consists of three parts: Elementary Training, Seed Funding Application and 6-month Incubation Period. In the first part, participants will take part in a series of on-site and online events to gain a better understanding of social innovation, and build an entrepreneurial mindset. The flagship event of Elementary Training is the Idea Generation & Prototyping Bootcamp. Themed “Subdivided Homes”, the bootcamp will explore bad living conditions faced by low-income families in Hong Kong. The bootcamp incorporates design thinking and business modelling to help participants experience the process of social innovation. Elementary training also includes Maker Skills Workshops, which encompass woodworking, laser cutting and no code technologies, and more. Through these maker skills, participants can make physical or digital prototypes to test their solutions. The Seed Funding Application for the Fourth Cohort will start accepting proposals in June 2024. Awarded projects will receive up to $100,000 in seed capital, and enter a six-month incubation period to gradually bring their visions to life.
Applications for the Elementary Training of Cohort 4: By 30th April (HKT 17:00)
(“ Enroll now” and click “Start Learning” to get the instruction to active account on our online platform. Your registration will be confirmed only when you complete your profile on the platform.)
Eligibility
- Permanent Residents of Hong Kong aged 18 or above
- Interested parties can join the activities and training sessions individually and form a team of 1 to 5 members for seed funding application. The proposal should be related to local poverty alleviation, social inclusion, fostering well-being and cohesion of society. In addiction, the target beneficiaries are members of the public in Hong Kong who are generally residents of Hong Kong without conditions of stay
Schedule of Cohort 4
| Application for Elementary Training | |
| Online Application | From now till 30th April 2024 (HKT 17:00) |
| Elementary Training | |
| Introduction of Social Innovation & Briefing Session | 6th May 2024 (online) |
| Maker Skills Workshops (Free to choose 2) | 8th to 11th May 2024 at Makerbay |
| Experiential Activities (Free to choose 1) | 13th to 17th May 2024 |
| Bootcamp | 18th to 19th May 2024 |
| 4 Weeks for Project Development: 3 Weekly Tutorial Sessions & Mentoring Session | |
| Weekly Online Tutorial Sessions | 25th May, 1st, 8th & 11th June |
| Mentoring Session | 15th June 2024 |
| Seed Funding Application | |
| Online Application | 3rd June 2024 (HKT 00:00) to 21st June 2024 (HKT 17:00) |
| Interview | |
| First Pitch (Eligible teams will be invited to present their projects) | Early July 2024 (Saturday or Sunday) |
| Final Pitch (Teams being shortlisted after the First Pitch will be invited to present their projects) | Early August 2024 |
| Implementation | |
| Announcement of Awarded Teams | Early November 2024 |
| 6 months Incubation | November 2024 to April 2025 |
Evaluation Criteria
| Idea’s Innovativeness | 15% |
| Social Impact | 20% |
| Project Readiness | 30% |
| Business Model and Market Analysis | 20% |
| *Commitment (Applicants reached 70% attendance of Elementary Training will receive a full score of “Commitment”) |
15% |
- The proposal should be related to local poverty alleviation, social inclusion, fostering well being and cohesion of society, and the target beneficiaries are members of the public in Hong Kong who are generally residents of Hong Kong without conditions of stay.
- Impact Innovation Lab has been appointed by The SIE Fund as one of the third batch of intermediaries. The SIE Fund enables social entrepreneurs to address social needs through innovative ideas, products and services, and assists the Government in formulating targeted poverty alleviation initiatives by focusing on the targeted poverty issues and the needs of vulnerable groups, especially sub-divided flat residents, single parent families and elderly.
References
Website of SIE Fund – Harnessing Social Innovation for “Targeted Poverty Alleviation”
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For the details and FAQ, please refer to the official website: https://makerbay.net/impact-innovation-lab/
For enquiries or suggestions, please call our hotline (852) 4638 0364 or email us at thelab@makerbay.org.
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