Congratulations to the 2020 H4I winning teams!
1st Place: Sliver Tsunami
2nd Place: Water Cooler
3rd Place: Build Together
People’s choice: Boost
2020 Challenge statements & Solutions
Tech & civic collaboration on a ‘smart’ solution to homelessness
Sponsored by: Microsoft
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual assessment, homelessness across the United States increased 2.7% from 2018 to 2019, with a staggering increase of 16.4% in California. Yet in 2016, Lynn Massachusetts became the first city in the state to end veteran homelessness by creating a database to track the progress of individuals out of homelessness, coordinating between multiple city, state and federal organizations and agencies, and providing a holistic approach to addressing the needs of this population. Using Lynn as an initial example, how can technology (including concepts like big data and artificial intelligence) and/or collaborative tactics between multiple organizations be used to help local municipalities reduce homelessness? What would a ‘smart’ homelessness solution look like?
Solutions:
Path: An app created with the help of local shelters to make information about housing availability transparent to match clients with the best available shelter tailored to their needs.
homeRIGHT: A database that provides city agencies with insight on where there are children who may be on the verge of homelessness. Data will be mined from sentiment analysis on social media, school absentee information, social worker to student ratios, and shelter occupation.
Manufacturing diversity on the FRONTLINE
Sponsored by: danaher
Traditionally, people of color have been underrepresented in the frontline workforce in the manufacturing industry. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, people of color comprise 20% of the manufacturing workforce. Even as manufacturers are now undertaking initiatives to hire more POC, retention still remains a huge challenge to achieve diversity on the frontline. Design a way to increase inclusion and improve retention of people of color working as frontline manufacturing workers.
Solutions:
BuildTogether: A dashboard of D&I metrics to ensure mid-level managers can stay accountable for reaching corporate D&I goals
VitaminD: An application that facilitates meet-up sessions between employees with common interests and availability.
Overcoming cultural differences with travel
Sponsored by: Google
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain. According to the FBI, hate-crime violence, defined as personal attacks motivated by bias or prejudice, reached a sixteen year high in 2018 with 7,120 incidents reported and even more unreported. Travel is often viewed as a tool for teaching cultural acceptance and appreciation, but like with all tools must be designed with intention and care to be truly effective. At a minimum, tourists need to be respectful of local cultures while ideally also learning and seeking out opportunities for meaningful interaction. Can technology play a role in preparing travelers before, during, and after travel to appreciate diversity and overcome cultural differences? And for those who rarely or never travel, can technology help them overcome the fears and barriers that prevent them from getting to know more than their own "little corner of the earth"?
Solutions:
Bazaar: A platform that enables people to learn about new cultures via recommendations at local grocery stores. Connections can be built through the common thread of food, which is prevalent in all cultures.
Pangaea: While travel seems like an ideal way to enable people to understand diffreent cultural perspectives, many tourists never truly step outside their cultural comfort zones. Pangaea is an app that helps travelers build an itinerary in a way that pushes them outside their comfort zones while balancing aspects of growth such as history, local life, arts, and interaction.
campus culture: responding to traumatic events
Sponsored by: Harvard Office for Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
There is an ever-growing list of traumatic and triggering events that are impacting communities and impeding our efforts to strengthen a sense of belonging on our campuses. These seminal events and harrowing headlines are spurred by troubles in society, including the resurgence of white supremacy, crimes against Jews and Muslims, sexual assault, violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, and mass shootings. These events can be especially traumatic when they occur repeatedly and target members of historically marginalized communities. How can a University community proactively prepare for these types of events and turn them into moments of learning and healing for the entire campus community? Can a campus use technology to foster dialogue? Is there a structure or process that can be adopted to create a responsive campus culture that adequately addresses the needs of the community and maintains inclusion in the face of divisive rhetoric?
Solutions:
Harvard Pulse: A platform open to all stakeholders to express their thoughts and connect with one another. Harvard admin can use this platform to hold live webcasts for the community and distribute micro-surveys ("pulse checks")
Cheer presents Affirmed, a plaform that builds resiliance through words of affirmation using quotes and videos from community members. There are three components: learn, engage, and act.
gender equity in e-sports
Sponsored by: nba
According to a May 2019 Entertainment Software Association Study, 46% of U.S. gamers are female. We know that women play NBA 2K in the U.S. and around the world, but when the NBA 2K League (a professional e-sports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software) held its first open tryouts in early 2018, the final draft pool of 102 players was all-male. The NBA has made progress through various inclusion efforts (including focus groups and interviews with stakeholders in the e-sports industry, in-season showcases with top female players, and a development camp for elite female NBA 2K players), yet the e-sports and online gaming industry have grappled with how to effectively ensure female players have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field. How can the NBA 2K League and other e-sports leagues support female competitors and increase representation into pools of draft-eligible players?
Solutions:
Pass The Ball: An uber-like rating system for e-sports players. The system will involve marketing (i.e. prizes and sponsorships for women gamers) and training (i.e. periodic modules to continue play)
Women of 2K: A community to empower and develop existing elite eSports female gamers who will in turn promote, recruit, and train the future elite eSports women gamers.
Harnessing Wisdom in the Future of Work
Sponsored by: Steel partners
Steel Partners (SPLP) operates a portfolio of Diversified Industrial, Energy, and Financial Services companies. As it aims to create value for its stakeholders, SPLP will continue to invest in the consolidation and automation of many business processes. Like many organizations, it prefers to retain its talent and avoid labor turnover. Meanwhile, increases in life expectancy and retirement ages mean that the U.S. workforce is aging. SPLP seeks to empower its aging workforce to grow with and support its new consolidated and automated business processes. In a future where automation will play a significant role, how can organizations empower and include employees above age 60 to harness the unique value that these employees possess?
Solutions:
Silver Tsunami: An Off-Ramping program for aging employees which includes a menu of mentoring and knowledge-transfer opportunities to replace traditional floor work. Employees could remain involved with the company on a full or part-time basis, facilitating effective knowledge transfer and maintaining a consistent and supportive company culture.
The Dream Factory: A software platform to improve traditional manufacturing company cultures and policies. The platform evaluates current culture and provides recommended changes to achieve cultural improvement targets.
Increasing Representation of Women in Technology Leadership
Sponsored by: t-mobile
Women account for 47% of the U.S. labor force and 52.5% of the college-educated workforce. They earn more than 57% of undergraduate degrees and 59% of all master’s degrees. They earn 38% of Master of Business Administration and other generalist degrees and 49% of specialized master’s degrees. Yet, the underrepresentation of women, especially women of color, in leadership has become a significant issue for our society and will likely remain an issue if women continue to be marginalized by their gender and race. Although they hold almost 52% of all management- and professional-level jobs, American women lag substantially behind men in terms of their representation in leadership positions. Since diversity, inclusion, and equity must begin during early and secondary education and ultimately continue to the workplace, it is paramount that institutions of higher learning and well-established companies form partnerships to alleviate gender inequality. Given this, how can institutions of higher learning and companies in the technology industry together address the absence of women, and especially women of color, in leadership and executive roles?
Solutions:
Five Point Eight: A reality show that drives affinity between women of color and senior executives, one location at a time. A senior executive and a woman of color will be placed in a fun, safe environment where they can get to know one another personally and professionally - the experience is facilitated by a D&I coach to ensure the experience is enriching for all parties.
C-Track: A 6-month immersive training program in partnership with academic institutions with focused mentorship, access to senior leaders, and opportunities to practice and showcase skills
Prioritizing Diversity to Disrupt, Innovate and Grow Tech Startups
Sponsored by: Hubspot
Through its Hubspot for Startups program, Hubspot partners with VC firms and incubators to provide resources and training to help startups in the program scale their businesses. Although the program includes a diverse array of entrepreneurs, research shows that female-owned startups face unique barriers to scaling their early-stage ventures. Moreover, although 43% of all businesses are women-owned (per a recent report by American Express), significant size disparities exist between their businesses and their male-owned counterparts. How can Hubspot better support female entrepreneurs in scaling their ventures? Specifically, what support, programs, or solutions can be offered to women-owned startups to help them grow?
Solutions:
GEMMA: A web portal that allows VCs search and view female founded companies, provides templates for femal founders to develop pitches and share them with VCs, and provides additional resources and community for female founders
Mentorspot: A platform that attracts and empowers outstanding mentors dedicated to inclusivity, and connects them with entrepreneurs in the Hubspot for Startups community. Mentors will be attracted via a professional development fellowship.
Moving from diversity to inclusion
Sponsored by: boston consulting group
In a recent study by BCG, titled ‘Fixing the Flawed Approach to Diversity’ several initiatives were identified as highly effective ways to improve diversity for female employees, employees of color and LGBTQ employees. Across these three groups, some of the identified initiatives were considered ‘hidden gems’; such initiatives were considered effective, but were undervalued by company leaders, making them clear blind spots for organizations. How do we help organizations move from diversity to inclusion by facilitating a bias-free day-to-day experience?
Solutions:
dotI: An app for feedback, survey and data collection, and a resource center (dashboard with inclusion metrics, chat forums, mentors, links to policies, etc.) to streamline feedback and transparency to management.
Ally Lift presents Access, an application that dials in on employee sense of belonging. Access takes a three-tiered approach, with focused programming on awareness (I feel included when...), connection (a "speed-dating app" to connect with senior management), and commitment (metrics to track change in employee sentiment).
Changing the stigma around mental illness
Sponsored by: bristol-myers squibb
The WHO estimates that 47.6 million people experienced a mental illness in 2018 in the US. Additionally, for every $1 invested in scaled up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity. Companies recognize the positive impact that addressing mental health can have on their businesses: many workplaces have mental health services, but these are often under-utilized. Other avenues of support at work, such as employee resource groups, flexible work arrangements, mentors, etc. still require personnel to self-identify, which is limiting due to the stigma around mental illness. How can we challenge the stigma around mental illness so that employees are comfortable to reach out for support and services at their place of work?
Solutions:
Stigma Stoppers: An online platform integrated into the existing company website and health offerings that highlights the equal importance of mental as well as physical wellbeing. This could include track-and-reward options to encourage practice of mental wellbeing, similar to existing programs for physical wellbeing.
IncluZone: A program that enables managers to be effective allies. Managers within similar industries participate in a year-long program together to share experiences, ideas, and best practices, and run through a toolkit of exercises and resources.
Addressing the Opportunity Imbalance in Case Interviews
Sponsored by: dalberg
Case interviews are a staple of most consulting recruiting processes. While they are an effective way to test for problem solving, analytical skills, and quantitative ability, they create an imbalance of opportunity. Some graduate and undergraduate programs provide comprehensive resources and coaching to their students, while others do not. Candidates from programs that don’t provides such resources may be at a disadvantage in the interview process, despite potentially being strong performers if they were to join the firm. How can firms redesign the interviewing process to test for the same attributes while reducing the opportunity imbalance? And which of these tools/methods provide the most efficient/effective ROI for consulting firms like Dalberg?
Solutions:
CIA: Case Interviewers Anonymous recommends a holistic approach to fully assess potential candidates. This multi-step recruitment process includes outreach to non-traditional candidates, blind assessment that is decoupled from resume and cover letters, testing of collaborative skills in a group interview, and a final interview with the hiring company.
Team 22: A multi-step recruitment process to inclusively identify qualified candidates. Steps include broad outreach, blind online assessment, mentor-led interview prep, in-person interview, and final candidate review.
Where’s the Watercooler? Inventing the Workplace of the Future
Sponsored by: Deloitte
Forces of change are affecting three major dimensions of the future of work: the work itself, who does the work, and where work is done. To understand what’s going on, and more importantly, what we can do about it, it’s important to consider multiple converging trends and how they are already fundamentally changing all aspects of work—with implications for individuals, businesses, and society. We define the future of work as a result of many forces of change affecting these three dimensions: work (the what), the workforce (the who), and the workplace (the where).
As a leading consulting firm we help our clients consider a wide variety of strategic and operational decisions related to these changes. Given a trend towards new combinations of co-located and distributed work, we see challenges and opportunities regarding: creating a strong organizational culture, cultivating meaningful personal relationships at work and preventing loneliness, and addressing the effects of implicit bias We invite you to think wildly about aspirational, inspirational, and innovative ways to reshape the workplace of the future. What is the essential product or service of the future workplace?
Solutions:
WaterCooler: An app to help create virtual networks. The app will have a community building feature to combat workplace loneliness by simplifying meet-ups for people to connect over shared interests, and a collaboration feature to allow users to collaborate via peer to peer knowledge sharing using blind-matching to combat implicit biases.
TeamTime takes the guesswork off of managers' plates by using evidence-based methods of creating the ideal team. The software includes a preference quiz + team matching to optimize team formation, collects weekly team experience barometer to provide insights on team members feelings to management, and leads a team debrief post-project.
measuring inclusion
Sponsored by: international monetary fund
While an organization’s diversity can be relatively easy to quantify, staff inclusion is typically measured in qualitative, and often subjective terms. There is a need for organizations to move beyond solely qualitative measurement mechanisms such as staff engagement surveys. How can organizations develop a quantitative method to measure and monitor staff inclusion that is deployable, dynamic, universal, and that extends beyond legal minimums and country-specific legislative requirements? How can we quantify inclusion to more than a feeling?
Solutions:
Mission Inclusion presents the Organizational Inclusion Index. This software tool will analyze workplace data by 6 dimensions of inclusion and compile a normalized score for each. This will lead to an inclusion indes, that organizations can use to benchmark their inclusivity over time and against similar companies.
Chakra: A software program that considers the 7 chakras as a holistic framework to measure and model inclusivity within a work environment and between managers, employees, and teams.
Increasing access to mentorship in investing
Sponsored by: wellington
Investing is an apprenticeship model, where more senior investors coach and support junior investors along their development arc. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the investment industry is only 5% Black or African American, 9% Asian, 8% Hispanic or Latino, and 38% women. How can we ensure underrepresented groups have the same access to mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities and individuals have buy-in to a common set of DE&I values? How do we create more mentorship opportunities and an environment where all individuals drive the success of DE&I initiatives?
Solutions:
CultureClub: A collection of journey videos and content for mentors and mentees to review to ensure a more intimate mentor selection process, and recommended steps to take during mentoring sessions along the way.
Boost: An accelerator program that brings together mentors and mentees over a 4 month period. The cohort engages in skill building and networking, and solve a key finance challenge that they present to senior management at the end of the program.