'Agents of Change' Atopic Dermatitis Challenge: Navigating Uncertainty

This resource has been co-created alongside the Challenge team to support you in designing your idea.

Throughout the Challenge, support includes:

• Access to research information to support the ideation process
• New connections and the opportunity to meet co-creators while growing your network via the OpenIDEO platform and AD community

Understanding Atopic Dermatitis (AD)

• Atopic Dermatitis: Overview (American Academy of Dermatology)
• Atopic Dermatitis: Patient Insights Report (Eczema Society of Canada)
• Living With Atopic Dermatitis (Change AD)
• Understanding Atopic Dermatitis (Change AD)
• What is Atopic Dermatitis? (National Eczema Association)
• Listen to the Eczema Breakthroughs podcast (Global Parents for Eczema Research)

Learn about the experience of living with AD

Malena’s story (World AD Day 2019)

Understanding the ​Lived Experience of Eczema (More than Skin Deep)

Eczema and Emotional Wellness (National Eczema Association)

Experiences of People Living with Atopic Dermatitis (Altogether Eczema)

List of Global Patient/Advocacy Organizations

List of Members for the Global Skin, a Global Alliance of Patient Organizations

Tools to Guide Design

Listen to an IDEO Podcast on the 8 Design Abilities of Creative Problem Solvers

Learn about these 4 Tips for Navigating Ambiguity

Learn about empathy and design

Explore these empathy-building tools from IDEO.org’s Design Kit

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How can I connect with non-profits in the AD community space and/or people living with AD in my country?

• Individuals with an idea that they feel passionate about, but who may not know a non-profit organization to partner with, are encouraged to:

• Combine teams: Reach out to others in the OpenIDEO community who may be joining the Challenge and have already identified an organization to partner with.
• Research your local AD community: Most non-profit organizations either have websites or a social media presence so try reaching out that way and ask to speak to someone from the fundraising team. You may also wish to consult Global Skin, a Global Alliance of Patient Organizations, list of members to find an organization that represents people living with AD in your country.
• Share your ideas anyway: While grant support will only be provided to those who have partnered with a non-profit organization, we want to hear your ideas regardless. The community management team may be able to help provide more information on non-profit organizations in your region that you may be able to partner with.

What does my proposal need to include? I don’t know where to start…

• We understand that some organizations may not have as much experience writing grant proposals as others. We encourage you to review the Challenge brief in detail, paying particularly close attention to the evaluation criteria and two core opportunity areas that outline the types of creative solution we are seeking to find.
• Full details about the proposal requirements and evaluation process can be found here.

• Once you feel ready to submit, make sure that you have answers prepared to the questions outlined in the Submission form - this document details everything you need to have considered in order to share your idea.
• Finally, please note that throughout the Challenge, access to research information to support the ideation process will be provided as well as the opportunity to meet co-creators via the OpenIDEO platform and AD community.

Do I have to submit my proposal in English?

• If submitting an English-language proposal proves to be challenging, we can put you in touch with someone from Sanofi Genzyme who will work with you to translate the application on your behalf.

Do I need to develop a budget for my idea submission? If so, what resources are available for me to use?

• Proposals that demonstrate the greatest potential to address the uncertainty experienced by people living with AD and those around them will be shortlisted by a panel of experts made up of global leaders from the AD community, as well as representatives from Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron, later this year.
• The shortlisted teams will have the opportunity to receive additional feedback and further refine their proposals into more fully-fledged ideas, demonstrating their potential impact for addressing this common challenge experienced by those living with AD. It is at this stage that you will be asked to provide an itemized budget for your idea.

• The format used for the budget can be as complicated or simple as you see fit. Reviewers need to understand how you will use the grant funding, and any other funds you have to support the project. This helps them evaluate if you are really able to execute the project with the amount of funding requested and also shows that you understand the anticipated costs of the project.
• It’s okay to estimate costs. For example, you may estimate $500 for mailing of 100 education packets at $5 each. Help the judges understand how you calculated the costs. You can also provide this budget in your local currency.

What does it mean for an organization to be “registered” or “officially recognized?”

• Every country has different ways of recognizing the legal status of charitable, non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
• For example, in the United States the government grants tax-exempt status to certain non-profit organizations which indicates the group meets the requirements to be recognized as a charitable organization. Some other countries provide official letters from the government, or an official form that acknowledges that the organization is an official group, and a not-for-profit charity.
• To be eligible for the ‘Agents of Change’ AD Challenge, organizations need to be able to provide documentation that they are a recognized organization within their country and that they are a charitable organization. 

My organization submitted an idea to the ‘Agents of Change’ AD Challenge last year; can we submit another this year?

• Yes. Organizations that have previously submitted ideas to the ‘Agents of Change’ AD Challenge may submit a new proposal.
• Please note: If you have previously received grant funding through the Challenge, even if for a different project, you must wait a year between cycles to apply. This means if you received grant funding from the 2019 Challenge, you are not eligible to apply this year (2020).
• You can also submit a proposal previously submitted, as long as that project was not awarded grant funding previously. 

Can we apply for a grant even if our project has already been started, or completed?

• No. Grant funding via the ‘Agents of Change’ AD Challenge cannot be applied retroactively to expenses that have already been incurred. All projects must be conducted during the one-year grant period for which the funding is provided; a one-year period that typically begins from the day a grant is received.
• Slight modifications to the start/end dates of the grant period may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Our organization already receives funding from Sanofi Genzyme and/or Regeneron. Are we still eligible to submit an idea?

• Yes. Receiving funds from either company for ongoing programs, conferences, or through other grants does not disqualify your organization from becoming an ‘agent of change’. You are required to disclose those donations, though, as part of your project proposal.