The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched its second global innovation challenge, inviting startups, researchers, and digital developers to create tools that enable crisis-affected communities to report damage in real time. The initiative aims to develop an open-source platform where people can send photos, describe damage, and geolocate affected infrastructure using mobile apps, web platforms, or messaging services.
By combining community-sourced information with satellite analysis, the platform will help identify areas with the most significant damage. Early, accurate data will allow governments to prioritize debris removal, restore services, and begin rebuilding more efficiently. Anila Qehaja, Team Leader for Assessments and Digital Solutions at UNDP’s Crisis Bureau, emphasized that enabling direct community reporting can create a faster and clearer picture of crisis impacts to guide assistance where it is needed most.
The winning solution will securely store reports, display them on a map, and provide authorities with actionable insights to target their response. A prize of US$50,000 will be awarded to the solution that meets technical and operational criteria, and shortlisted innovators will present their proposals to UNDP experts following an initial evaluation.
The challenge will be hosted through Wazoku’s Innocentive global solver community, which has over half a million problem-solvers. This collaboration follows a previous UNDP challenge on detecting and mapping underwater explosive remnants of war, which saw participation from 385 solvers worldwide. Juan Gomez, Innovation Consultant at Wazoku, highlighted the opportunity for creative systems that empower communities to report damage accurately and promptly.
SeaFreight Labs, Wazoku’s long-term crowdsourcing consultancy partner, will also support the challenge. Harry Sangree, Founder and CEO of SeaFreight Labs, noted that the winning solution must combine high-quality software engineering with a simple, user-friendly interface to encourage immediate community reporting.
UNDP plans to explore further collaboration with the winning teams to enhance these solutions, making community-powered crisis data accessible to humanitarian and development partners globally. Submissions for the challenge are open until 23 June 2026.
