The Bridge Spark Fund selected 51 semi-finalist teams, who are listed below in relation to the Bigger Change Faster challenge area their project addressed. Each of these teams participated in a virtual “boot camp” training to help strengthen their solutions to deliver greater cross-sector impact and to consider scaling from the start of the project.
The four winning teams are profiled here.
Accelerating a Low-carbon, Clean Air and Environmentally Friendly Future for All
This challenge included impacts to: Greenhouse gas emissions • Renewable energy access • Health risks from air pollution • Energy infrastructure risks for rivers, lands or oceans
Nature’s Power to Mitigate Climate Change and Support Rural Economies
Lead applicant: Campbell Moore, The Nature Conservancy
Development Impact Bond Cook & Clean
Lead applicant: Claudia Doets, Cardano Development
Partner: Berkeley Air Monitoring Group
Reducing Poverty by Developing Decentralized Renewable Energy
Lead applicant: Junjie Zhang, Duke Kunshan University
Software to bring equity to vulnerable communities by slashing pollution from most electricity-consuming devices worldwide
Lead applicant: Katie Ryan, Watttime
A market-based approach to scaling up low-impact solar siting and design
Lead applicant: Liz Kalies, The Nature Conservancy
Partner: Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment
Supporting Cambodia’s Sustainable Power Sector Transition
Lead applicant: Luke Walley, World Wildlife Fund
Breaking the cycles of poverty and disease through clean cookstoves in Ifanadiana, Madagascar
Lead applicant: Mathilde Hutchings, PIVOT
Low-Impact Renewable Energy Roadmap Collaboration
Lead applicant: Nels Johnson, The Nature Conservancy
Factors impacting sustained use of cleaner cooking systems in poor communities of rural India
Lead Applicant: Praveen Kumar, Boston College
Partner: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (Mumbai), India
Advancing the Renewables Revolution: Myanmar
Lead Applicant: Pyae Phyo, World Wildlife Fund
Koko cooks! Evaluating a novel clean cooking system for sub-Saharan Africa
Lead Applicant: Rob Ballis, Stockholm Environment Institute
Partner: University of Michigan, North Carolina State University
Sustainable energy for cooking in Africa: the first mile in the low carbon, clean air, environmentally friendly journey
Lead Applicant: Voahirana Randriambola, World Wildlife Fund Madagascar
Transforming the Global Food System for Health & Sustainability
This challenge included impacts to: Malnutrition from over or underconsumption and/or poor dietary diversity • Agriculture productivity (yields of crops, forage, livestock, fish, etc.) • Greenhouse gas emissions • Health risks from air pollution • Habitat conversion • Freshwater biodiversity risks from water use (e.g. irrigation) and water pollution (e.g. agrochemical & sediment pollution)
Transforming the Global Food System through Restorative Ocean Farming
Lead Applicant: Amy Blankstein, GreenWave
Bioleft: A collaborative, open source seed breeding initiative for sustainable food systems
Lead applicant: Anabel Marin, Bioleft
Partners: Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Laboratorio de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad de la Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM), STEPS Centre (UK), Red Nacional de Municipios y Comunidades que Fomentan la Agroecología (national network of counties and communities promoting agroecology), Movimiento Argentino para la Producción Orgánica (movement for organic production), Asociación para la Agricultura Biológico-Dinámica de Argentina (association for bio-dynamic agriculture), GOSSI (an emerging international network of open source initiatives).
Expanding the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification for Agriculture Service Providers in the United States to help meet Air and Water Quality Goals
Lead Applicant: Andrew Allman, Nutrient Stewardship Council
Partners: The Fertilizer Institute, Florida Fertilizer & Agrichemical Association, New York State Agribusiness Association, Ohio AgriBusiness Association
Innovative Rangeland Restoration in East Africa – InRangeRest
Lead Applicant: Anna Treydte, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology
Partners: OIKOS East Africa, jusdiggit, Northern Tanzanian Rangeland Initiative
Lead Applicant: Bobby Cochran, Willamette Partnership
Partners: Hawaii Good Food Alliance, Nonprofit Finance Fund
Incentive chains to increase intensive and fire-free livestock production in Bolivia
Lead Applicant: Carla Mendizabal, Conservation Strategy Fund
Transforming Pakistan’s Food System for Health and Sustainability
Lead Applicant: Catherine Gee, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
A National Food Policy for the USA
Lead Applicant: Chantal Clement, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems
Working with the state government of Jalisco to develop medium-term land use plans consistent with healthy diets, agricultural economic vibrancy, and environmental sustainability
Lead Applicant: Charlotte Gonzalez, Conservación del Territorio Insular Mexicano (ISLA, AC)
Partners: National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), National Institute of Public Health, Universidad Guanajuanto, University of California – Riverside, Colegio de Mexico, University of California – San Diego
Scaling Healthy Agriculture Systems in Latin America Using Remotely-sensed Earth Observations
Lead Applicant: Chris Latimer, The Nature Conservancy
Scaling rural poultry production to prevent a looming protein deficit, empower women, improve child nutrition and conserve critical wildlife corridors in Tanzania
Lead Applicant: David Wilkie, Wildlife Conservation Society
Partner: Silverlands Tanzania, LLC
Securing and Protecting Investments & Capacities for Environmental Sustainability (SPICES)
Lead Applicant: Elizabeth Wardle, Catholic Relief Services
Designing U.S. dietary intervention pathways for achieving health and sustainability targets
Lead Applicant: Grace Wu, The Nature Conservancy
Partners: Sustainable Development Solutions Network; IIASA, UC San Diego, RTI International
Replate Food Rescue
Lead Applicant: Jen Fedrizzi, Replate
Shining a Light on Food Systems: A Policymakers Toolbox for Food Systems Decision-making
Lead Applicant: Jessica Fanzo, Johns Hopkins University
Partner: Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, University of Michigan
Transforming Urban Organic Solid Wastes into Organic Fertilizer through Vermi-composting to Enhance Food/Nutrition Security and Environmental Sanitation in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
Lead Applicant: Kassa Belay, Mekelle University
A new platform for sustainable diets in West Papua
Lead Applicant: M. Rubina Haroon, CIFOR
Partner: Center for Research and Development (BALITBANGDA) of West Papua Province
Cocoa agroforestry for biodiversity, productivity and health
Lead Applicant: Marieke Sassen, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Partners: Wageningen University and Research, IITA
Mobile Layaway: Transforming Smallholder Farming in Africa
Lead Applicant: Michael Light, MyAgro
Putting aquatic foods at the center of a sustainable food transformation
Lead Applicant: Michelle Tigchelaar, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions
Partners: Stockholm Resilience Centre; Stanford Center on Food Security and the Environment; EAT
Creating a REAL food culture in our schools for the health of our children and the planet.
Lead Applicant: Nora LaTorre, Eat Real Certified
Diversifying blue livelihoods through holistic ocean farming
Lead Applicant: Patrick Cage, Sustainable Ocean Alliance
Partners: University of California, Santa Cruz Coastal Science & Policy ; Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute ; the Gaining Research Experience in Africa for Tomorrow (GREAT) Institute, the Gambia
Sustaining and Scaling Climate Compatible Agriculture through Behavioral Strategies
Lead Applicant: Tanmatra Bhanti, Rare
Greenhouse-In-a-Box
Lead Applicant: Kaushik Kappagantulu, Kheyti
The Integrated Agroecology Toolkit: Five modest but scalable strategies that harness nature to resolve food and health challenges in tropical low- and middle-income nations
Lead Applicant: Timothy Treuer, University of Vermont
Sustainable Landscape transformation through Healthy Agricultural System implementations in upper Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Lead Applicant: Tomas Walschburger, The Nature Conservancy
Towards efficient food security in Nigeria: engaging interactive game board for micro-dosing training among farmers
Lead Applicant: Toyin Samuel Olowogbon, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Empowerment
Impact at origin: catalyzing sustainable agriculture with smallholder farmers (FARM-TRACE)
Lead Applicant: William Sheldon & Kahlil Baker, Taking Root
Improving Sanitation & Wastewater Management to Benefit People & Nature
This challenge included impacts to: Access to safely managed sanitation services • Adequate wastewater treatment • Health risk from unsafe water (especially water borne infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance) • Undernutrition from diarrheal disease • Freshwater and/or marine biodiversity risks from sewage & untreated wastewater
Delivering human and ecosystem health co-benefits through investment in natural and built infrastructure: a Framework for a Fiji Watershed Fund
Lead Applicant: Amelia Wagner, University of Queensland
Partner: Wildlife Conservation Society, Fiji
Improving water reuse planning and implementation to benefit people and nature
Lead Applicant: Anne Thebo, Pacific Institute
Infrastructure Next
Lead Applicant: Bobby Cochran, Willamette Partnership
Partners: Center for Sustainable Infrastructure; ECONorthwest
Constructed Wetlands as a sanitation alternative in rural areas in the Paute watershed- Ecuador
Lead Applicant: Cristina de la Paz, The Nature Conservancy
Accelerating the Implementation of Advance Wastewater Technology for People and Nature
Lead Applicant: Holly Drinkuth, The Nature Conservancy
Wastewater Alternatives for Hawaii
Lead Applicant: John Anner, WAI Clean Water
Improving sanitation and wastewater management to benefit people and nature
Lead Applicant: Jos Hill & Natalia Scarlata, Coral Reef Alliance
Partners: University of Queensland, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, University of California – Irvine, PATH
Turning Waste Into Water for People and Nature
Lead Applicant: Kacy King, The Nature Conservancy
Community WASH Development for Healthier Homes and a Safer Environment
Lead Applicant: Linette Jonhera, Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology
Advanced Septic Installation – impact investing, nitrogen removal, contaminants of emerging concern
Lead Applicant: Sara Burns, The Nature Conservancy
Partner: Barnstable Clean Water Coalition