Co Op Launches Co Op Think Prize 16 The Financial Longevity Challenge
CO-OP LAUNCHES CO-OP THINK PRIZE 16: THE FINANCIAL LONGEVITY CHALLENGE
The question posed in the 2016 Challengeis: "How might we create financial services that support the dreams and obligations of those 50 and older?" The Challengeis already open and accessible at https://challenges.openideo.com/challenge/financial-longevity. A $10,000 prize will be divided among up to five individuals who offer the best ideas in response to theChallenge question.
A new element to the Challengeis a series of collaboration training workshops for credit union employees planned by CO-OP in November and December. Again co-sponsored by Mastercard, the half-day sessions will be led by OpenIDEO facilitators and "Credit Union Innovation Fellows" (credit union employees working with CO-OP and OpenIDEO on this initiative). Dates and locations are to be announced, and inquiries can be directed to marketing@co-opfs.org.
TheChallengeis proceeding in five phases over the course of more than three months, according to OpenIDEO's crowd-sourcing format: Research, Ideas, Feedback, Refinement and Evaluation.
Participants may enter the process anytime, and new ideas can be submitted any time before the end of phase two, November 27. Red letter dates and milestones are:
- Phase 1: Underway now and extending through October 30: The Research phase enables anyone to share personal perspectives and examples on the challenge topic.
- Phase 2: October 31-November 27: The Ideas phase is open, enabling anyone to submit and comment on new ideas.
- Phase 3: November 28-December 4: The short Feedback phase will result in approximately 25 ideas to go into the Refinement phase.
- Phase 4: December 5-December 30: In Refinement, the ideas with the most potential impact will be refined and built out by the idea authors and their teams.
On January 12, 2017, five top ideas will be announced, based on a judging panel of OpenIDEO staff and CO-OP and MasterCard representatives.
After that date, theChallengewill remain live for a Phase 5, Impact, enabling the community to continue collaborating and sharing progress.
The CO-OP THINK Prize has been held annually since 2011, and is designed to inspire creative thinking and solutions to issues confronting credit unions and their members. The 2015Challengeattracted nearly 15,000 visits from interested parties in 138 countries, with more than 500 active participants, which ultimately led us to recognize five outstanding ideas.
Again, to begin participating immediately in the Challenge, visit https://challenges.openideo.com/challenge/financial-longevity.
About CO-OP Financial Services
CO-OP Financial Services is a financial technology company that
supports 3,500 credit unions and 60 million members by providing a
cutting-edge suite of customizable tools and services. The company
was the first in its industry to merge purpose, innovation and
technology to help credit unions advance the industry mission of
people helping people. To learn more visit
www.co-opfs.org.
