A Consortium of humanitarian organizations composed of CARE, Plan International, Action Against Hunger and Citizens Disaster Response Center is now calling for IDEAS for its TUKLAS Innovation Labs project! Everyone can pitch innovative and inclusive ideas related to disaster preparedness that will benefit poor and vulnerable communities in the Philippines. And when we say everyone, it’s actually EVERYONE. It could be an individual, a team, a social enterprise, a farmers’ association, a women’s group, a team of inspired millenials etc.

Sign up at www.bit.ly/tuklasdotph  and follow TUKLAS Innovation Labs on Facebook for more information and updates.

About the Project: The TUKLAS Consortium led by Plan International in partnership with Action Against Hunger, the Citizens Disaster Response Centre, and CARE will implement a 21-month project to reach across the country to foster and facilitate innovative ideas and entrepreneurs, taking a user-centred approach to nurture, test and scale promising models to addressing the gaps to improved emergency preparedness in the disaster prone country. The Innovation Lab project will be implemented from 1st July 2017 to March 31st 2019 with labs/teams in Baguio, Manila, Tacloban, and Cotabato.

The Philippines TUKLAS Innovation Lab will support innovators to test and refine their innovations through an iterative approach geared to regularly review, gain community feedback, promote continuous improvement and evaluate for continue viability/promise. A pipeline of 20 – 40 projects will be identified and supported under ‘scaling’ and ‘piloting.’ The project will invest in the entrepreneurs as change agents, working with them to develop a capacity building programming to expand their ability to be leaders in disaster preparedness.  Operating four community labs as ‘co-working’ spaces, the project will offer a platform for innovation and a mechanism to identify and further invest in innovations coming from the grassroots.  The project will take all efforts to creatively and meaningfully engage non-traditional actors in preparedness from academia and the private sector.

This project is part of a wider programme being managed by the UK-based START Network’s Disaster Emergency Preparedness Programme. It will therefore also work in collaboration with the Network, its Innovation Lab partners, and the other 3 selected Innovation Hubs.