The Future Finder Challenge is a $1 million challenge to reimagine career navigation for adult learners. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education invites innovators to build digital tools that better support adult learners as they launch and advance their careers.
The workforce and its requirements are rapidly shifting. To thrive in this dynamic landscape, qualifications and skills are no longer enough. Career navigation services — which help people understand, choose, and prepare for career opportunities — have become vital to career success. Technology has the potential to enable more equitable access to high-quality career navigation services across the United States — leading to better outcomes for adult learners, their employers, and the wider economy.
There are a growing number of digital career navigation tools for higher education students and professionals, but few are designed specifically for adult learners — a diverse group that includes adults who have not completed high school and/or who are learning English. This means many adult learners, who are often already underserved, do not have the support they need to enter and thrive in high-quality, in-demand occupations and high-growth industries. And when adult learners thrive, employers gain access to diverse, skilled talent pools — and their communities prosper.
With more than 43 million adults who could benefit from adult education programs — there is a large, untapped market of adult learners in need of career navigation support. This creates an important opportunity for innovators looking to make an impact for adult learners as well as the broader U.S. workforce.
In the past, innovation in the adult education space has been stifled by several factors: a lack of resources, a complex landscape, limited access to data, and difficulty accessing adult learners. This is where the Future Finder Challenge comes in. The challenge aims to bring together adult education providers and learners, edtech companies, and employers to encourage collaboration and information sharing. To overcome barriers and help innovators pave the way, the Future Finder Challenge is providing funding and technical assistance.
Stage 1: Open submissions (September 2022 – February 2023)
The U.S. Department of Education invites innovators — including strategists, developers, user-centered designers, and educators — to submit prototypes for digital tools that will improve the career navigation experience for adult learners.
Tools must be designed for adult learners, but may also support adult education staff — including educators, career coaches, and administrators. Entrants will be expected to demonstrate how their tool may increase adult learners’ employability in high-quality, in-demand occupations and high-growth industries. Employability outcomes include increased self-awareness, career knowledge, confidence, and/or job attainment. Entrants will also need to demonstrate how they plan to work in conjunction with existing local workforce systems, including by complementing in-person services, and collecting and sharing usage, user, and outcomes data. Technical assistance will include access to online resources to help entrants prepare their submissions.
Submissions will open on September 23, 2022 and close on December 15, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Up to five finalists will receive at least $50,000 each and be invited to progress to the Stage 2 accelerator. Finalists will be announced in February 2023.
Stage 2: Accelerator (early 2023 – fall 2023)
Up to five finalists will be selected to progress to Stage 2, where they will participate in an accelerator. Finalists will have access to virtual resources, webinars, mentorship from experts, and other support to help them build and test their tools. The accelerator will kick off with an in-person boot camp and culminate in a live demo day. (Note, the boot camp and/or demo day will be held virtually if conditions do not allow for these to be conducted in person.)
Technical assistance will include guidance around designing for and partnering with adult education providers, adult learners, and workforce partners. It will also include resources around topics such as user-centered design, data collection and evaluation, and sustainability planning.
At the end of Stage 2, finalists will submit their market-ready tools for review. One grand-prize winner will receive $500,000, and up to two runners-up will receive a share of at least $250,000.
Beyond the challenge: Deployment (beginning in late 2023)
The winners will be supported as they deploy their solutions across the adult education ecosystem into 2024. This will include providing guidance around marketing strategies as well as customizable templates for communications materials.
Awards:- $1,000,000
Deadline:- 16-12-2022
