Innovation occurs daily in the technology sector. To tackle complex social challenges, global foundations look to the tech sector to help deliver as many powerful tools in their arsenal as possible to design novel and useful solutions. Identifying innovations, nurturing innovative capacity, and supporting innovators are mechanisms to support ideas for the public good.

Guided by these principles, Siemens Stiftung created the “empowering people. Award” as a way to not only recognize and reward innovations, but provide the resources necessary to help organizations further the development of solutions to help solve global challenges.

A sampling of previous award winners include:

• A prosthetic knee designed specifically for conditions in the developing world and costing at least 90 percent less than similar alternatives
• Clean drinking water right at the tap so residents of poor, rural communities can cook, clean, bathe, and wash dishes with clean water, minimizing contamination pathways and preventing fatal diseases and frequent illnesses
• A low-cost, energy-efficient infant warmer that can help prevent hypothermia for infants with low birth weight in developing countries.

CPR was honored to have assisted Siemens Stiftung in promoting the “empowering people. Award 2015″ to U.S. companies and organizations. Our goal was to publicize the award to solicit entries through media coverage in various publications. Among the highlights of this project included:

• Media outreach and coverage in various trade and business publications ranging from Yahoo! Finance and The Street, to Today’s Medical Developments
• Development of a contributed article on previous award winner D-REV and the ReMotion Knee, which received prominent coverage in “Today’s Medical Developments,” a medical device trade publication, as a way to garner interest in entries among the medical device industry
• Interviews with award jurors to create blogs and additional content

Award entries have been submitted and are currently in review by the jurors, and we eagerly await the announcement to see what innovations are in the works to help improve global conditions.