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Digital StewardshipSystemic FinanceRelational InfrastructureKnowledge CommonsComplexity & ResilienceImpact Verticals
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Initiative

IEEE Connecting the Unconnected Challenge

An annual global competition supporting early-stage projects that bridge the digital divide, advancing connectivity and digital inclusion for underserved and under-connected populations.

Digital Stewardship Knowledge Commons Impact Verticals
Status
Active
Timeline
2025 (annual cycle)
Lead Partner
IEEE Future Networks
Learn More
ctu.ieee.org

The Challenge

A Global Connectivity Gap

Nearly three billion people still lack internet access. The consequences ripple across education, livelihoods, health, and civic participation, and the gap often disproportionately affects women and other structurally excluded groups.

The challenge is not only technical. It is also about affordability, adoption, and locally meaningful use, shaped by culture, trust, safety, and the real costs of participating in the digital economy.

The Response

Strengthening Ideas, Teams, and Pathways

The IEEE Connecting the Unconnected Challenge solicits solutions from start-ups, nonprofits, grassroots groups, universities, and individuals, focusing on early-stage projects and concepts that can grow into durable connectivity outcomes.

The Challenge recognizes that different strategies are needed, and awards submissions across three categories:

  • Technology Applications (TA): innovations that increase access or enable connectivity
  • Business Models (BM): approaches that increase affordability and sustainability
  • Community Enablement (CE): programs that increase adoption and meaningful use

The process is structured in phases, beginning with a short abstract submission and moving toward deeper submissions and presentations for finalists.

Guiding Principles

What Grounds the Program

  • Practical solutions that can be implemented and sustained
  • Impact for underserved and under-connected communities
  • Inclusion and attention to risk, safety, and unintended harms
  • A global learning orientation, where local innovation informs wider change

Key Tensions

Edges the Field Must Navigate

  • Scaling without erasing local context and community control
  • Balancing commercial sustainability with equity and affordability
  • Avoiding extractive approaches to connectivity and data

What We're Learning

Signals That Matter

  • Connectivity is an infrastructure problem and a trust problem
  • Program design must account for gendered access patterns and digital safety
  • The most promising innovations often combine technical solutions with community enablement and governance

Our Role

How We Contribute

Sustainable Impact Foundation engages with the IEEE Future Networks ecosystem to support knowledge mobilization, mentorship, and systems-informed thinking that helps early-stage connectivity efforts translate into durable social outcomes.

Related Focus Areas

Connected themes

01

Digital Stewardship

Building digital infrastructure that serves communities rather than extracting from them.

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06

Impact Verticals

Applying systems thinking to specific domains like education, health, and livelihoods.

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Interested in this work?

If you are building digital inclusion solutions, exploring community-owned connectivity, or supporting early-stage innovation ecosystems, we welcome collaboration and shared learning.

Get in Touch