The Knight News Challenge accelerates media innovation by funding breakthrough ideas in news and information. Winners receive a share of $5 million in funding and support from Knight’s network of influential peers and advisors to help advance their ideas. The first round of 2013, which opens in February, will invite innovators from all disciplines to focus on tools for open government. In 2012, three challenge rounds, each focused on an emerging trend, drew more than 2,500 entries.
Challenge 1 - on NETWORKS: Winners were announced June 18.
Challenge 2 - on DATA: Winners were announced Sept. 20.
Challenge 3 – on MOBILE: Winners were announced Jan. 17.
Anyone, anywhere can apply for the challenge - whether for-profit start-ups or non-profit ventures. For more information on a variety of topics - from guidelines for for-profits, on intellectual property licensing, open source software and more - visit our FAQ.
A mobile application that will enhance the features and interactivity of Mode Shift: Move Together, a living, breathing online hub that both captures and accelerates quality of place choices that foster community connectedness through news and information sharing that promotes more bikeable, walkable and livable communities, provides interactive maps and advocacy tools, interactive polls and other features.
The app will be developed on native iOS and Android platforms to ensure the greatest reach while incorporating Mode Shift’s most popular features. These include: Articles and events feeds, the ability to record and upload bike routes with annotation and commenting abilities attached to a user’s profile, social media sharing of site content, user activity feed (i.e., “Luther just uploaded a route…”), article commenting, browsing and search functionality on the map, and access to other content types within the map, such as bike-friendly bus routes and bike rack locations, locations of farmers markets and green grocers, bike shops and bike-friendly businesses, and more, all available from within the mobile app.
We expect that in addition to metro Detroit’s thousands of biking enthusiasts and advocates, the mobile app will provide an entry point for residents in the community to consume and share information who may not have internet access in their homes, but do so on their cell phones, seamlessly, thereby enriching and improving information to bikers and non-bikers alike to further the cause of promoting healthier, more bikeable and walkable communities in southeast Michigan.
1. Through an article published on our site that will be promoted via our already-established social media channels, e-mail blasts and event outreach 2. Through pre-launch promotion and invitation for beta testers across an established network of advocates and enthusiasts in southeast Michigan 3. Through traditional news and media partner outreach efforts, including, print, radio and television
Mode Shift already has an extensive network of media, advocacy and blogging partners across the region who co-promote and collaborate on projects and initiatives, including m-bike.org, Michigan Tails and Greenways Alliance, Model D Media, the Detroit Creative Corridor Center, MLive Detroit, Tour de Troit, Transportation Rider’s United, the League of Michigan Bicyclists, and community partners of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, among others. Input from most of these groups were integral in the development of Mode Shift, and all have an active role in our ongoing growth and development, which includes the map portion of Mode Shift currently under development, which will extend into the mobile app.
The news and information hub formally launched April 3 at wearemodeshift.org. The map system is currently under development and will launch in late fall.
Primarily, we expect the number of routes being uploaded to the map to increase due to the seamless integration the mobile app will provide. Given that the percentage those who access the internet via a mobile device continues to grow, many of whom use only their mobile device to access the internet, we also expect the number of viewers and members to the site to grow considerably once a mobile app becomes available.
In a city where many, if not most of its residents have limited access to the internet at home, we expect this mobile app provide the best chance at reaching the diverse community in which we live, to help bring important information and tools they need to make healthy lifestyle choices, and take specific actions to impact the communities in which they live.
We absolutely need funding to purchase native iOS & Android development tool kits and to hire mobile development and UI experts, in addition to ongoing support funds for application upgrades and maintenance costs.
Additional details:
Please list who is on your team:
Jessica Soulliere, program director and editor for Mode Shift: Move Together and Module LLC.
Expected number of months to complete project: 3.5 months
Estimated Project Cost: $80,000 to $120,000
Name:Jessica Soulliere
Twitter: @wearemodeshift
Email address: jsoulliere@cfsem.org
Organization [if applicable]: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
City: Detroit
Country: United States
How did you learn about the contest? E-mail from Knight Foundation
