2022 LEAP Challenge: Projects

LEAP Projects are hosted by education organizations seeking research and entrepreneurial expertise from Fellows to accelerate their education solution’s impact.

Organizations selected to host projects attended a three-day LEAPathon event where they met with LEAP Fellows, participated in mentorship and project refinement sessions, and were matched with 2-4 Fellows. The 12-week project sprints will kicked off in two waves: five project sprints began in October 2022 and five in February 2023.

Benefits of hosting a LEAP project include:

Access to the expertise of a global pool of highly capable research and entrepreneur Fellows who lend their talents to your venture, offering tailor-made solutions to strengthen your evidence base;

Tangible deliverables - such as roadmaps, strategic analysis, or research frameworks - from Fellows that will help strengthen your solution and theory of change;
Professionally-managed project facilitation provided by MIT Solve, allowing you to focus solely on the most critical elements of the project;
Valuable networking opportunities across the global cohort of LEAP Fellows and project hosts;
A $5,000 stipend to compensate your team for time spent hosting the LEAP project.

For the 2022 LEAP Challenge, we looked for project proposals focused on improving the evidence base of a product, program, or business model helping to bridge learning gaps for underserved children ages 2-12. We’re interested in project ideas from a diverse range of teams and invite established organizations from anywhere in the world to apply.

What is LEAP?

MIT Solve and the Jacobs Foundation have a shared goal of supporting and accelerating education solutions that have the potential to impact learners at scale. To help achieve this goal, we are launching LEAP (Leveraging Evidence for Action to Promote change) to provide organizations with the expertise to strengthen the evidence base of their learning solutions.

LEAP pairs education organizations with a team of expert researchers and social entrepreneurs - LEAP Fellows - who lend their best-in-class expertise to the organization for a 12-week part-time sprint (a “LEAP project”), providing them with tailor-made solutions to strengthen the evidence base of their product, program, or business model and scale effectively.

What happens if my organization is selected? What are the benefits of hosting a LEAP project?

Organizations selected to host projects will attend a three-day LEAPathon event where they will meet with newly-selected LEAP Fellows, participate in mentorship and project refinement sessions, and be matched with 2-4 Fellows. The 12-week project sprints will kick off in two waves: five projects will begin in October 2022 and five projects will begin in February 2023.

Benefits of hosting a LEAP project include:

Access to the expertise of a global pool of highly capable research and entrepreneur Fellows who lend their talents to your venture, offering tailor-made solutions to strengthen your evidence base;

Tangible deliverables - such as roadmaps, strategic analysis, or research frameworks - from Fellows that will help strengthen your solution and theory of change;
Professionally-managed project facilitation provided by MIT Solve, allowing you to focus solely on the most critical elements of the project;
Valuable networking opportunities across the global cohort of LEAP Fellows and project hosts;
A $5,000 stipend to compensate for time spent hosting the LEAP project.

Who can apply to host a LEAP project?

In applying to host a LEAP project, organizations are submitting a proposal for how the research and entrepreneurial expertise of LEAP Fellows will accelerate their education solution’s impact through a stronger connection to evidence.

We are seeking project ideas from a diverse range of teams and invite established organizations from anywhere in the world to apply to host a LEAP project. We define “established” as being at pilot stage or beyond:

Pilot: A team or organization deploying a tested product, service, intervention, or business model in at least one community. If for-profit, a young company that is working to gain traction and that has raised less than $2 million in institutional capital in seed funding. If not a registered organization, the team must have a fiscal sponsor.
Growth: An organization with an established product, service, intervention, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth in multiple communities or countries. If for-profit, an early-stage company that has established a track record and is seeking to raise a round of roughly $2 million to $15 million in institutional capital in a Series A or potentially B round.
Scale: A sustainable enterprise working in several communities or countries that is looking to scale significantly, focusing on increased efficiency. If for-profit, a successful company that is scaling its operations and seeks to raise a round of more than $15 million in institutional capital.

All LEAP projects should be focused on improving the evidence base of a product, program, or business model helping to bridge learning gaps for underserved children ages 2-12.

How will my application be evaluated?

The LEAP project judging panel will be comprised of leaders and experts from across the education research and entrepreneurship ecosystem. After an initial screening by Solve and Jacobs Foundation staff and community reviewers, the judges will score the screened applications and select finalists, who will be invited to record their project pitch and attend an Interview Day Q&A session with the judging panel.

Reviewers and the judging panel will score applications according to the following criteria:

Alignment: The organization’s product, program, or business model aligns with the current LEAP focus on bridging learning gaps for underserved children ages 2-12.
Inclusive Human-Centered Design: The organization’s solution is designed with and for underserved communities, and the solution team demonstrates proximity to the community they serve.
Clarity of Research Aims: The application clearly outlines an understanding of the solution’s current evidence base and how strengthening that base will positively impact their theory of change.
Potential for Impact: The proposed LEAP project has the potential to help the organization significantly scale their impact in the field.
Feasibility: The proposed LEAP project is feasible for a team of 3-4 part-time LEAP Fellows to complete within a 12-week sprint period.
Public Good: The learnings from the proposed LEAP project have the potential to benefit not only the applicant organization but also to contribute to the knowledge base of the wider field.

What is the LEAP Timeline for project hosts?

May 10, 2022: Call for LEAP Project Applications Begins
July 5, 2022: [EXTENDED] Deadline for Applicants to Submit a LEAP Project Application
Week of August 8, 2022: Finalists Notified
September 7 & 8, 2022: Finalist Interview Days with the Judging Panel
September 12 & 21, 2022: LEAP Project Host Winners Notified & Virtual Orientation
September 28 & 29, October 5, 2022: LEAPathon Event Days to match Fellows & Projects
Mid-October 2022: First wave of LEAP collaborations take place (12 weeks)
February 2023: Second wave of LEAP collaborations take place (12 weeks)
June 2023: LEAP Virtual Closing Event

Can I submit more than one project idea from my organization?

We want your best project idea! Therefore, only one application per organization will be accepted.

Are you only looking for LEAP applications from organizations that support education in emergencies or girls’ access to education?

No. Our focus this year is on providing LEAP support to organizations working to bridge learning gaps for underserved students ages 2-12. Within that broad theme, we have a particular interest in seeing strong applications from organizations working in the education in emergencies and girls’ education sectors, but they will be considered equally with all eligible submissions.

What does this support look like in practice? In LEAP’s pilot stage, Fellows collaborated to:

Create a research plan to effectively measure the impact of a phonecast program on caregiving and early childhood development indicators in India;
Deliver a research-based roadmap for the international expansion of an in-service teacher professional development program and methodology;
Develop an evidence-based strategy for piloting a solution that measures and improves socio-emotional skills to support teachers and school leaders in low- and middle-income country contexts.

Judging Criteria

Alignment: The organization’s product, program, or business model aligns with the current LEAP focus on bridging learning gaps for underserved children ages 2-12.
Inclusive Human-Centered Design: The organization’s solution is designed with and for underserved communities, and the solution team demonstrates proximity to the community they serve.
Clarity of Research Aims: The application clearly outlines an understanding of the solution’s current evidence base and how strengthening that base will positively impact their theory of change.
Potential for Impact: The proposed LEAP project has the potential to help the organization significantly scale their impact in the field.
Feasibility: The proposed LEAP project is feasible for a team of 3-4 part-time LEAP Fellows to complete within a 12-week sprint period.
Public Good: The learnings from the proposed LEAP project have the potential to benefit not only the applicant organization but also to contribute to the knowledge base of the wider field.