The Pop Tech Institute

POPTECH'S MISSION IS TO ACCELERATE THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF WORLD-CHANGING PEOPLE, PROJECTS AND IDEAS.

IN 2021 POPTECH CONTINUED ITS TRAJECTORY AS A LEADING GLOBAL PARTICIPANT IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL INNOVATION AND FUTURES STRATEGY. OUR PROGRAMMING AND OUTCOMES ARE FOCUSED ON EXPLORING SECTORS THAT ARE UNDERGOING RAPID CHANGE, EXPERIENCING DISRUPTION OR CONTRIBUTING POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY TO THE MAJOR CHALLENGES CONFRONTING HUMANITY. IN 2021 OUR PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTS WAS FOCUSED WAS ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND THE IMPACT OF THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC. WE DELIVER ON OUR MISSION THROUGH ROBUST RESEARCH, DESIGNING AND FACILITATING SOLUTION-GENERATING CONVENINGS AND THROUGH THE IDENTIFICATION AND TRAINING OF EMERGING INNOVATORS AND SCIENTISTS. OUR FINDINGS AND DISCOVERIES ARE SHARED WITH VARIOUS CONSTITUENTS THROUGH A VARIETY OF MULTI-MEDIA FORMATS, AS WELL AS AT THE ANNUAL POPTECH THOUGHT FORUM, A GLOBALLY REGARDED GATHERING OF THOSE DEDICATED TO EQUITABLE HUMAN ADVANCEMENT. DURING 2021, ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING SHIFTED FROM IN-PERSON TO VIRTUAL CONVENINGS. POPTECH'S SOCIAL INNOVATION FELLOWS AND SCIENCE FELLOWS PROGRAMS REPRESENT CORE MISSION COMMITMENTS OF POPTECH. THE PROGRAMS WERE FOUNDED IN 2008 AND 2010 RESPECTIVELY. THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAMS IS TO ACCELERATE THE IMPACT OF FUTURE LEADERS, INNOVATORS AND SCIENTISTS THROUGH TRAINING, MENTORSHIP AND RECOGNITION. THE PROGRAMS HAVE PRODUCED A 200-MEMBER ALUMNI NETWORK WHOSE WORK HAS POSITIVELY AFFECTED ROUGHLY 700 MILLION PEOPLE IN OVER 120 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE. POPTECH FELLOWS HAVE ACHIEVED THEIR IMPACT BY: 1) CREATING TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS THAT ARE DEPLOYED WORLDWIDE; 2) DEVELOPING NEW DISTRIBUTION MODELS THAT ALLOW A PRODUCT, SERVICE OR HUMANITARIAN AID TO BE WIDELY DEPLOYED; AND 3) UTILIZING HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN PRINCIPLES TO GENERATE SOLUTIONS THAT SCALE AND REPLICATE.

POPTECH'S COMMITMENT TO TRAINING EMERGING LEADERS THROUGH ITS FELLOWS PROGRAMS AND ITS LONGSTANDING INTEREST IN EXPLORING GLOBAL CHALLENGES THROUGH INCUBATED INITIATIVES, EXPLORATORY CONVENINGS AND CONSULTING PROJECTS ARE EXEMPLARY OF THE ORGANIZATION'S ABILITY TO FACILITATE UNCONVENTIONAL CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION. THROUGH THESE ACTIVITIES AND MORE, POPTECH CONTINUES TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A LEADING PARTICIPANT IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL INNOVATION AND POSITIVE GLOBAL CHANGE. POPTECH INITIATIVES ARE EXEMPLAR OF OUR ABILITY TO FACILITATE UNCONVENTIONAL CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION. IN ADDITION, POPTECH EXPLORES UNIQUE AREAS OF GLOBAL INTEREST THROUGH POPTECH EXPLORATORIES, CONSULTING PROJECTS, AS WELL AS ITS ANNUAL THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FORUM. PROGRAMS WERE SUCCESSFULLY ADAPTED TO A VIRTUAL FORMAT IN 2021, AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE PRODUCTION OF IMPACT AND SOCIAL CHANGE MEDIA IS A KEY TO POPTECH'S MISSION. THIS CAPACITY ENABLES US TO DO UNIQUE REPORTING ON PROJECTS AND SHARE INSIGHTS, IN ADDITION TO CAPTURING OUR OWN WORK; WE ROUTINELY CREATE DOCUMENTARY BODIES OF WORK FOR SELECT PARTNERS. IN 2021 WE CONTINUED OUR WORK WITH THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TO SUPPORT A HUB OF EXPERTISE WITH THE NUCLEAR THREATS COMMUNITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THIS WORK IS FOCUSED ON GLOBAL SECURITY AND NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION. IN ADDITION, WE MAINTAIN AN ENGAGEMENT WITH A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INITIATIVE EXPLORING RISK AND DECISION-MAKING IN THE CONTEXT OF NUCLEAR THREATS. THIS WORK, ALSO FUNDED BY THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK, ENCOMPASSES PARTICIPATION FROM ACADEMICS, POLICY-MAKERS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL. WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE N SQUARE COLLABORATIVE, WE ARE DESIGNING A FUTURES- FACING PROGRAM THAT RE-DEFINES NATIONAL AND HUMAN SECURITY 100 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE. THROUGH THESE ACTIVITIES AND MORE, POPTECH CONTINUES TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A STANDOUT ORGANIZATION IN THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, FUTURES FORECASTING AND CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION WITHIN THE SOCIAL INNOVATION SPACE.