Pre-applications have opened for the annual national Community Chest Impumelelo Social Innovation Awards (CCISIA), which recognise socially conscious innovators who conceive, design and build sustainable responses to social challenges.
The aim is to unearth innovative solutions to challenges in sectors such as health, education, infrastructure and housing, culture and arts, environment and conservation, income-generation, community development and social entrepreneurship.
The pre-application process closes on Tuesday April 30.
Candidates who successfully complete this phase and the Community Chest due diligence process are invited to apply to the programme. Successful applicants will undergo a rigorous, independent evaluation and adjudication process before finalists are selected.
The awards also create a platform for shared learning and scaling up of impactful innovations, through a holistic approach encompassing thought leadership, mentorship and coaching, monitoring, evaluation and learning, strategic investment and pragmatic master classes. The work of the previous award winners are regularly submitted to international best practice awards programmes.
Said Lorenzo Davids, chief executive officer of Community Chest: “Our dream for these awards is to provide a platform for innovation, deep thinking, social intelligence and impact in a space that so desperately needs to see fresh ideas and have deep thinkers who work collaboratively with civil society.
“We will continue to unearth social innovation and reward creative solutions to public problems through our awards programme and the accompanying mentorship and master class training.”
Last year’s top award winner was Iyeza Health in the category Social Entrepreneur of the Year, with FoodForwardSA, The Lalela Project Trust and Gradesmatch among the platinum award winners.
The 2019 CCISIA will culminate in a ceremony to be held in November at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town. For more information, log on to www.comchest.org.za or email awards@comchest.org.za