The PopTech Accelerator
From breakthroughs in medical diagnostics to new ways of mitigating the effects of climate change, from methods of providing mobile services to the bottom of the pyramid to revolutionary ways of genetically inventorying and conserving the world’s biodiversity, new tools and fresh approaches to global challenges are being invented every day. The PopTech Accelerator is a one-of-a-kind agile laboratory dedicated to investigating, prototyping, developing leadership for and scaling these social innovations.
We take a highly networked, collaborative and cross-sector approach to help new solutions take root. Our work cuts across silos and disciplines, bringing together scientists and technologists, designers, social sector and corporate leaders, academicians, community members, and a unique array of experts. This approach allows us to move nimbly and to try ideas more traditional organizations might miss. Along the way, we are learning a great deal about how to make open innovation work for the social good.
The PopTech Accelerator has three core program areas:
Fellows Programs: Each year, PopTech selects and trains social innovators who are working around the world on breakthroughs in healthcare, energy, development, climate, education, and civic engagement, and related fields, and gives them the tools, insights, visibility and social network they need to scale their impacts to new heights. PopTech also selects and trains high-potential working scientists, providing them with communications and leadership skills to help them become more effective public leaders.
PopTech Labs: PopTech brings together diverse groups of stakeholders and thought leaders for “Innovation Journeys” in areas of promising disruptive innovation. The goal of each Lab is to collaboratively map new potential areas of change, and to foster new incentives that accelerate innovation. The results of the labs are released under open-source license.
Accelerator Initiatives: When PopTech identifies extremely high-potential projects, it will adopt them as Accelerator Initiatives. Each Initiative typically features an array of technical, corporate, design, and/or academic collaborators, with PopTech providing project management, due diligence, partnership solicitation, fundraising, media documentation, and other services required to bring the project to scale. Each Initiative is intended to incubate a new approach with tightly defined success metrics, the potential to serve a million or more people at low cost, and a potential path to self-sufficiency. Current Accelerator Initiatives include Project Masiluleke and Flexible Light and Power (FLAP).
To learn more about how to support or become involved in the Accelerator, please contact Leetha Filderman at leetha [at] poptech [dot] org or visit the PopTech Impact Fund page.