The Lisboa City Council and Unicorn Factory Lisboa are launching the “Lisboa Innovation For All” Social Innovation Award to find innovative solutions in the areas of health, education, and migration. The award is being launched during the Lisboa Unicorn Week – the 13th Lisboa Entrepreneurship Week, and applications for startups, scaleups, and entrepreneurs who want to present ideas or projects with the potential to create an impact in the city of Lisboa open on June 1st.
The European recognition of the work by the Lisboa City Council and Unicorn Factory Lisboa in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship led to the city’s distinction in 2023 as the European Capital of Innovation. This European recognition translated into a monetary prize of one million euros for the city of Lisboa, which will fund the Social Innovation Award – Lisboa Innovation for All – 2024 Social Impact Challenge, organized by Unicorn Factory Lisboa.
The goal of this mobilizing initiative is to identify, promote, and enhance innovative solutions to address the main social challenges faced by cities and that can have practical application in Lisboa. The Lisboa Innovation For All Social Innovation Award is divided into three categories, corresponding to three challenge areas: Quality of Education, Access to Healthcare, and Integration of Migrants.
This award is aimed at national and international startups, scaleups, and entrepreneurs who have an idea or a project in development, in testing, or operational in other locations that can be refined and adapted to Lisboa. It is a call to the talent and creativity of entrepreneurs, aiming for them to contribute to the well-being of populations, some of which are from more vulnerable segments.
3 Award Categories
In the area of Quality of Education, we are looking for innovative solutions focused on improving learning capacity in primary and secondary education by enhancing technological skills and promoting creative and critical thinking, testing alternative learning methods, and providing new teaching tools. Improving students’ access to university education and strengthening the city’s ability to attract teachers are also priorities. For higher education, the goal is to reduce the cost of living for university students, make it easier to find a room or apartment in the city, and improve access to financial support.
Candidates for the Access to Healthcare category should present innovative ideas or projects that leverage the power of preventive healthcare, especially through the use of medical wearables. Projects that promote better management of chronic diseases by focusing on medication adherence and patient monitoring, increase the city’s capacity to attract healthcare professionals, find creative or alternative solutions for the lack of access to family doctors and waiting lists are encouraged. The ultimate goal is to promote healthier lifestyles, increase quality of life, and improve access to specialized care, including dental care, eye care, mental health, and basic maternal and child care services.
Regarding the third challenge of Migrant Integration, the aim is to improve interoperability and information exchange between public institutions, NGOs, and the private sector to integrate migrants and facilitate navigation through complex bureaucratic procedures. There will be a strong focus on decent housing, job search support, and combating racism and discrimination.
“Innovation plays a key role in improving quality of life and solving social challenges that affect cities. This is the positive impact we want to see grow in the city, through three highly relevant dimensions for the municipality: education, health, and migration. Increasingly, Lisboa is an important center where public bodies, companies, universities, research centers, technological institutes, and citizens collaborate in the development, testing, and experimentation of new products and services. Together, we are an innovative and interactive community capable of transforming the city,” says Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisboa.
Selection Phase
Applications for the Lisboa Innovation for All Social Innovation Award open on June 1st, followed by a pre-selection phase by the Lisboa City Council, Unicorn Factory Lisboa, and social innovation experts, who will select projects with the greatest potential in each category. In the second phase, a jury consisting of the Lisboa City Council, Unicorn Factory Lisboa, and social innovation experts will evaluate the projects, also considering the opinions of Lisboa citizens to select three finalists per category, who will move on to a testing or proof of concept phase.
In this proof of concept phase, finalists will spend six months deepening the problem, preparing a pilot, and defining success factors to implement the pilot project adapted to the reality of a specific area of Lisboa and test the solution so that it can later be scaled city-wide.
Based on the results of the pilot projects, one winner per category will be selected based on their respective success. Each winner will receive a monetary prize of €120,000, as well as ongoing support from the city and Unicorn Factory Lisboa to implement the solution, and access to a broad innovation community united by the same values of tackling global challenges through impact.
“Unicorn Factory Lisboa has been demonstrating that Lisboa offers ideal conditions for experimenting, innovating, and creating new solutions and businesses for different challenges through its operational axes. With this award, we will continue to expand our action to address social challenges, knowing that the intrinsic talent of our community is capable of developing innovative solutions with a strong impact on the city,” explains Gil Azevedo, Executive Director of Unicorn Factory Lisboa.
