Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below you will find our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section. Click the arrows to expand.
If there is something you don’t find an answer for, please check the Innovator Handbook, or submit a question here via email.
About the prize
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Who is running the Longitude Prize on Dementia? Who are the partners involved?
The Prize is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK and is delivered by Challenge Works. For more information on the Challenge partners, visit our Partners page.
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Who is Challenge Works?
Challenge Works is a social enterprise founded by UK innovation agency Nesta. For a decade, we have established ourselves as a global leader in the design and delivery of high-impact challenge prizes that incentivise cutting-edge innovation for social good. In the last 10 years, we have run more than 80 prizes, distributed £84 million in funding and engaged with 12,000 innovators.
We believe no challenge is unsolvable. Challenge Works partners with organisations, charities and governments around the globe to unearth the entrepreneurs and their innovations that can solve the greatest challenges of our time.
Challenge prizes champion open innovation through competition. We specify a problem that needs solving, but not what the solution should be. We offer large cash incentives to encourage diverse innovators to apply their ingenuity to solving the problem. The most promising solutions are rewarded with seed funding and expert capacity building support. The first or best innovation to solve the problem wins. This approach levels the playing field for unknown and previously untested innovators so that the best ideas, no matter their origin, are brought to bear on the most difficult of global challenges.
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What is a challenge prize?
Challenge prizes are a tried and tested method for supporting innovation. They offer a reward to those who can first or most effectively meet a defined challenge. They act as an incentive for meeting a specific challenge, rather than being a reward for past achievements. Prizes are also a means of throwing open a challenge beyond the ‘usual suspects’, thus facilitating the engagement and participation of anyone who can solve the challenge.
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What kind of solution is the Prize looking for?
The winning solution will be a digital device or service designed for use by people living with dementia as the primary users. It must be able to demonstrate a transformational improvement in the lives of users, helping them to retain independence in one or more of the areas that contributes to their wellbeing and quality of life, including: essential activities of daily living, communication and social interactions; and other activities that enable them to lead a fulfilling life doing things they enjoy.
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Will teams be penalised if solutions change significantly from initially proposed ideas?
As co-creation of solutions with people affected by dementia are integral to the prize programme, we expect solutions to evolve based on end-user feedback and therefore applicants will not be penalised based on their solutions deviating from proposed ideas in the January 2023 deadline and May 2024 deadlines.
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What support will be offered for teams that require additional expertise to implement solutions?
For applicants who progress to the Discovery Award and Finalist Award phases, we will be delivering tailored, non-financial support for applicants to effectively develop their solutions. This will include partnering applicants with relevant organisations for capacity building and the implementation of solutions.
Prize structure & timeline
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For how long will the Longitude Prize on Dementia run?
The Longitude Prize on Dementia will run until February 2026 when the winner is announced. For more information on the structure and timeline of the Prize read our Innovator Handbook.
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When was the deadline to the Discovery Awards?
All entries for Discovery Awards for the Longitude Prize on Dementia were submitted by 26 January 2023 at 2359 GMT.
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When was the deadline to the Finalist Awards Awards?
All entries for Discovery Awards for the Longitude Prize on Dementia were submitted by 31 May 2024 at 15:00 BST.
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Were more advanced solutions that may be ready for market prior to the close of the Prize eligible?
The Prize was open to all solutions and therefore will not be penalised for being at different stages of development. The Prize is intended to support the advancement of solutions and therefore advanced solutions that are close to the market will be considered.
However, the co-design of solutions with people affected by dementia is an integral part of the Prize. As such, we expect solutions to change throughout the prize, particularly during the product and evaluation study in the finalist stage. If solutions have already been brought to market and are unable to adapt to the end user, this may affect the outcome of application.
Prize eligibility requirements
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Was the Longitude Prize on Dementia only open to people and organisations in the UK?
No, the prize was open to innovators worldwide but entries were required to be in English.
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Could applicants submit more than one application?
Yes, applicants could submit up to two ideas and be named as a partner on up to two entries. Each idea had to be submitted separately and needed to be different from the other ideas already submitted.
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Could an applicant enter on their own?
Yes, applicants could be individuals and academic groups, companies or non-profits, as well as partnerships between these different groups. For partnership applications, only one application should have been submitted.
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At what stage should solutions be by the end of the Prize?
By the end of the Prize, the 5 finalists will have conducted an independent product evaluation study and tested their solutions on end users. We therefore expect solutions to be close to market ready, however acknowledge the results of the evaluation study will likely highlight iterations and improvements to be made to the solutions.
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What is your definition of early and mid stage dementia?
The Alzheimer’s Society guide to the stages of dementia, provides an overview of the symptoms associated with disease progression. However we recognise this is a guide and dementia diagnoses are complex.
The guide highlights in the early stage of Alzheimer’s, a person may function independently. He or she may still drive, work and be part of social activities. Despite this, the person may feel as if he or she is having memory lapses, such as forgetting familiar words or the location of everyday objects.
The middle stage of Alzheimer’s typically last the longest, and dementia symptoms are more pronounced. The person may confuse words, get frustrated or angry, and act in unexpected ways, such as refusing to bathe. Damage to nerve cells in the brain can also make it difficult for the person to express thoughts and perform routine tasks without assistance.
The Prize is focused on solutions that retain the independence of people and are able to adapt to user needs to deliver tailored support, contributing to wellbeing and quality of life.
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How much co-creation of solutions was expected by the January submission deadline?
Teams were not expected to have begun co-design at the application stage. The 24 teams that progressed to the Discovery Award Phase were required to start planning the co-design aspect of their solutions and received support to do this. By the Finalist stage of the prize, teams are expected to engage in meaningful co-design and test their solutions on a wide population sample.
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Can solutions target health and care workers?
People living with dementia are required to be the primary users of the technology-based solutions. However, family members and carers can be secondary users.
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What constitutes breakthrough technology and breakthrough innovation?
The criteria is broad to ensure solutions eligible for consideration are not limited. Innovators were encouraged to think outside of the box, we want to see new and innovative solutions compared to what is currently on the market.
