Simply Open Awards offers £25,000 for disabled solutions

DO YOU HAVE A BRIGHT IDEA THAT COULD HELP BREAK DOWN BARRIERS?

Anew group of awards, the Simply Open Awards, has been launched by Open Inclusion. The awards, created in partnership with Enable India, a disability-led organisation, have been announced in time for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) – and winners will win a share of £25,000. The Simply Open Awards offer people with any disability or other specific access needs, (or a person such as an assistant, friend, colleague, teacher, or family member) to demonstrate a solution they have created to better manage access challenges in a way that enhances independence, capability, or joy. This can be something new or adapting an existing product or solution to fit that person’s requirements. Applicants can submit to one of five categories to which people can apply, with £3,850 of awards per category, or £25,000 in total.

Open Inclusion specialise in market research and user insights around people with impairments and/or additional needs. Christine Hemphill, managing director, says: “Open Inclusion is delighted to launch the Simply Open Awards to help people with disabilities share and find solutions that remove barriers in a range of areas in our lives. We have the opportunity to find and celebrate creative ingenuity! With global disability-inclusive brands as sponsors, we can accelerate the awareness of where difficulties arise in people’s lives.”

Darren Rowan, Accessibility Lead at Eli Lilly says, “Lilly is excited to be the global sponsor for the Daily Living and Well Being category of the inaugural Simply Open awards. As we continue to develop innovative medicines and healthcare solutions for millions of patients worldwide, the well being of our employees remains a company priority. A core element of our global accessibility strategy is to better understand the barriers faced by people with disabilities, and we believe these awards will spotlight the solutions people with disabilities create to remove barriers in their daily lives.”

Sarah Hore-Lacy, Board Account Director at AMV BBDO, another sponsor of the awards, says “At AMV, we believe creativity is one of the greatest tools we can use to break barriers and drive positive impact. That’s why we’re so excited to be the global sponsors for the Communications Category at the Simply Open Awards. We can’t wait to read the submissions.” The five key categories for applicants to submit videos are: • Daily living and wellbeing • Employment and Advocacy • Education • Getting out and about • Communications

APPLICATIONS & ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must have a disability or have another specific access need.

Applications will open on Thursday 19th May 2022 and closes at 23:59 on Friday 2nd September 2022. Applicants must be residents in the:

United Kingdom and Ireland

United States and Canada

Australia and New Zealand

Applicants can also be an assistant (carer), friend, colleague, teacher, or family member of someone with a disability or specific access need.

The awards are not eligible for:

Entrepreneurs who have created solutions that they plan to commercialize or already have.

Individuals or entrepreneurs who are not willing to share their solution publicly for others to learn from and adopt for their personal use.

Where intellectual property protection may be a concern.

Each category will be given £3,850 of awards, which is spread between the top 5 awardees per category: 1st - £2,000 2nd - £1,000 3rd - £500 4th - £250 5th - £100

For more information, please visit https://www.simplyopen.io/awards If you have any difficulties with submitting applications, have eligibility concerns or require an alternative format, please email simplyopenawards@openinclusion. com