Longitude Prize on Dementia launches with £4.34m pot for assistive tech
The Longitude Prize on Dementia is calling on innovators around the world to apply the power of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to develop assistive technologies that can bridge the cognitive gaps that develop when a person’s dementia progresses.
According to Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Dementia Statistics Hub, 517,412 people in the UK have a dementia diagnosis. It is predicted that 944,000 people in the UK have dementia. By 2050, projected statistics show that over 1.6 million people will have dementia in the UK.
While there is no cure for dementia, the Longitude Prize on Dementia recognises that assistive technologies can go a long way to helping dementia patients stay independent at home and live more enjoyable lives.
The prize will award a total of £4.34 million to drive the creation of personalised, technology-based tools for people with dementia.
Of this, £3.34 million will be awarded in seed funding and development grants to the most promising solutions to the prize challenge, with a £1 million first prize to be awarded in 2026.
The prize has been designed in collaboration with people with dementia, who will also be involved in the judging process at every stage. It will support innovators to work in collaboration with people with the disease to develop technological solutions that support the people who need it most.
Funded by UK dementia charity Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, innovators can enter their solutions to the prize until January 2023. The prize has been designed and is being delivered by innovation expert Challenge Works.
The prize has received generous support from three UK donors via Alzheimer’s Society: The Hunter Foundation, CareTech Foundation, and Heather Corrie. It has also received funding from the Medical Research Council, which funds research at the forefront of science to prevent illness, develop therapies, and improve human health.
In addition, wider support will provide innovators with crucial insight and expertise, facilitating whatever they need to bring their ideas to life. This includes access to data, collaborations with people with dementia, and dementia organisations in the UK and globally, as well as advice on product design, user experience, and business mentoring.
The Longitude Prize on Dementia has further partnered with a number of international organisations to reach out to innovators across the world and finalise the non-financial support programme, including: AARP (US), AgeWell (Canada), MedTeq+ (Canada), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Social Tech Trust (UK), and Amazon Web Services (UK).
The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) in Canada is interested in co-funding Canadian-specific innovator activities, and the UK’s National Institute for Research Health (NIHR) is funding a rigorous assessment study of the solutions in development in the finalist phase which will be led by a group of academic evaluation experts.
Application process and timeline
The Longitude Prize on Dementia was announced earlier this year but is now open to applications.
The period for entries closes on 26 January 2023 at 12pm GMT.
Innovators with game-changing technologies and solutions that support people living with dementia live enjoyable, fulfilling and independent lives, can find out more about applying to the Longitude Prize on Dementia here.
At each stage of judging, entries will be reviewed by the prize’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP), where people with early-stage dementia are invited to review the designs, ideas, and give insights into how assistive technologies could support and enable independent living. The thoughts and feedback of the LEAP will be considered by the prize judges.
In May 2023, the 23 most promising solutions will progress and each receive £80k Discovery Awards as well as non-financial capacity building support to develop their solutions over the course of 12 months.
In August 2024, five finalists will be selected and each receive an additional £300k to progress their solution to become a working product.
In February 2026, one of the five finalists will be selected as a winner and be awarded £1 million.
The winning solution will use the latest advances in technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, in combination with user data and testing, to provide personalised support for people living with dementia.
Find out more about the Longitude Prize on Dementia on the website.