Each competition on Changemakers includes the following elements: a mosaic of solutions, a framework for understanding the problem and its solutions, an innovation awards competition that surfaces and identifies the best innovation solutions, and opportunities for online discussion and collaboration.

This competition is hosted by Changemakers.net in partnership with the Fritz Institute.

The Meeting Disaster Mosaic—A Useful Tool

The mosaic of solutions is good place to start in this edition because it provides an overarching framework for understanding the issue of developing innovative strategies for meeting disaster. It includes five of the key factors that magnify the impact of disasters; four fundamental innovative principles that have emerged from the work of social entrepreneurs; and 19 examples of solutions that have the potential to become a new generation of best practices. They are placed on each of the squares of the mosaic according to the principle they use and the factor they are addressing.

The mosaic is a tool that demonstrates how the collective impact of these innovative solutions is greater than the sum of their individual parts. As a member of the Changemakers community, you can now refine and expand the mosaic by submitting solutions to the innovation awards competition and through online discussion. Together, we can use the mosaic to make connections, create synergies, identify emerging trends and patterns, and find and fill gaps in the field.

News Features: Tracking the Trends

Feature articles on Changemakers include lessons learned in the past year about the power of community participation in preparing and responding to disaster, a story about bringing cutting edge business logistics management to citizen sector disaster relief efforts, a report on how social entrepreneurs are responding to the Kashmir earthquake disaster, plus updates about the work of three leading social entrepreneurs: Suchitra Sheth is working to ensure that disaster-response frameworks don't let vulnerable groups fall through the cracks. Juan Carr's Solidarity Network engages 2,000 volunteers in centers throughout Argentina, with additional volunteers in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Mozambique, Boston, and Tokyo. At the core of Eko Teguh Paripurno's work lies community-based disaster risk management and the firm belief that communities—the main actors and primary beneficiaries—are the key resource in managing disaster.

Changemakers also interviews Dr. Janki Andharia, who has spent more than 20 years studying disaster relief and the nature of community recovery, and provides a holistic perspective. Finally Muhammad Yunus, who spread microcredit globally by founding the Grameen Bank and pioneered global marketing of major social change, provides an essay about how the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery is time to tap the social entrepreneurial spirit of America's Gulf Coast.

Changemakers Innovation Award Competition

This Changemakers Innovation Award Competition provided an opportunity for organizations to submit their innovative strategies for preparing for, and responding to, disasters. Members of the Changemakers online community (which includes representatives of funding organizations), reviewed and rated the competition entries. Through online voting the winners of the awards competition were selected from a slate of finalists chosen by a panel of judges. Three winners were elected.

Online Discussion and Collaboration

You can participate in an online discussion that helps organizations to refine their proposed solutions and advance thinking about how to create market-based strategies that address low-income consumers.

Investor Advisory

Changemakers offers an Investor Advisory that is a product of the entire competition process and is based on the best insights contributed by discussion participants regarding how investment in the sector can be most effectively targeted.

Kris Herbst, Web Editor