Disruptive Design 4 Disasters

Download the complete PDF by clicking here!Disasters strike unexpectedly. While this year’s hurricane season has come in like a lamb, it has the potential to come out like a lion. Make an impact by using design to empower survivors and communities affected by disasters—become a Design 4 Disasters Fellow.

Join FIT (Field Innovation Team) in their journey to deliver real-time innovations in disasters. You’ll use your skills, passion and desire to serve to create what may be the next most important tool for helping communities recover from disasters.

Application process
We want to hear your idea for disruptively innovative processes, systems or products for community empowerment during disasters.

Step 1:
Research existing technologies and processes applied in disasters.

Step 2:
Craft a new, disruptive idea by defining a problem and identifying a solution. This can include a design you’ve already created, but with a new application. Your idea does NOT need to be a finished product or design.

Step 3:
Produce a short 60-second video. Present (in problem-solution format) an original human-centered design process, system or product for cutting-edge, real-time innovation and community empowerment in disasters.

Step 4:
Submit your video by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 5, 2014 on www.fieldinnovationteam.org.

Videos must be 60 seconds or less. Videos any longer than 60 seconds will not be considered.

Selection criteria:
A panel of emergency managers, community activists and disruptive innovators will select three finalists. Finalists will be showcased at FIT’s upcoming Washington State Community Innovation Summit in Seattle on October 17, 2014. The winner will be announced during the Summit. FIT maintains a fair, impartial and unbiased decision-making process and reserves the right to make all decisions in selecting the winner of the Disruptive Design 4 Disasters challenge.

• FIT does not hold any rights to the designer’s creative work. FIT will return the working files and usage rights to all submitted designs, including those who don’t win.
• FIT is not a client of the designer. Designers who feel that the total prizes are not proper compensation commensurate to the designer’s level of skill, need not apply.

Award
Cash prize of $5,000
FIT Fellowship, including an all-expenses-paid trip to attend FIT’s November 5- 9, 2014 Boot Camp in Utah
An invitation to join FIT’s next disaster deployment and the option to implement the winning design product/system/process onsite

About FIT
FIT (Field Innovation Team) helps first responders and survivors by bringing together a group of experts from robotics, community justice, design, technology and beyond to use innovative techniques to solve problems in disasters. Founded in 2012, FIT has deployed in support of 6 disasters, including the Texas/Mexico unaccompanied migrant children crisis, hurricane Sandy, the Moore, Oklahoma tornadoes, the Boston Marathon bombing, Philippines typhoon Haiyan and the mudslide in Oso, WA. Some of FIT’s many achievements include helping FEMA redesign its Disaster Recovery Centers and developing the concept that later became FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance Program. Learn more by visiting their website, www.fieldinnovationteam.org.

Follow @fitreadytogo on Twitter and Instagram to join our community of service-minded, disruptive disaster innovators.