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West Virginia has a simple system that avoids wasting vaccine doses

Adele Peters

January 28, 2021 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, West Virginia

West Virginia has implemented a digital platform that allows residents to sign up for notifications if leftover doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are available for use near them. Although the system is only accessible to those with internet, it has resulted in far fewer people phoning the hotline, which in turn has allowed for greater ease for those without internet access to sign up for appointments.

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How Covid turbocharged the QR revolution

David Silverberg

January 22, 2021 |

BBC |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Quick Response (QR) codes have become a popular way to conduct contactless business, and even contact tracing, during the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants and retail stores allow customers to order and pay by scanning the codes with their smart devices, which pulls funds from payment accounts like PayPal, or their bank account, debit, or credit card. Public health agencies in the UK display QR codes that people can scan to “check in” and if someone tests positive for Covid-19 at that location people who scanned the code within 21 days are notified. QR codes hold massive amounts of data reliably and cheaply.

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Is There a Better Way to Collect Data on Homelessness?

Kriston Capps Max Reyes

January 22, 2021 |

Bloomberg |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bakersfield, California

A campaign to end housing instability is counting on frequent data collection to provide a clearer insight into the reality and needs of those living on the streets. “Built for Zero” aims to replace the current federal HUD model which consists of a single annual physical count of the unhoused. The data are used to create a command center which streamline the response from various groups and agencies that can address the issue of homelessness. The city of Bakersfield, California, was able to functionally end homelessness even with the onset of the pandemic after implementing the data-driven strategy.

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One, two, tree: how AI helped find millions of trees in the Sahara

Amy Fleming

January 15, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Algeria

Tree mapping helps researchers understand deforestation and climate change, however the technologies used often miss trees that aren’t clustered. Researchers, in collaboration with NASA, used high-resolution satellite images, previously only available to commercial entities, to find a surprisingly large number of trees in the Sahara Desert. Using AI deep learning and one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers at the University of Illinois, they identified more than 1.8 billion trees, manually marking nearly 90,000 so the computer could “learn” which shapes and shadows indicated the presence of trees.

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An Algorithm Is Helping a Community Detect Lead Pipes

Sidney Fussell

January 14, 2021 |

Wired |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Flint, Michigan

BlueConduit, an analytics startup, applies statistical models to identify neighborhoods and households that might have lead pipes. The models include dozens of factors, such as the age of the home and proximity of other homes where lead has been found, to help predict likely locations of lead pipes and create a ranking by likelihood that cities can use to prioritize which pipes to examine. In Flint, MI, about 70% of the homes identified using the models had lead pipes, compared to about 15% of homes where excavations did not use the model. The company is working with organizations in dozens of other cities.

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This App Aims to Help SNAP Users Make the Most of Their Benefits

Bailey Berg

January 11, 2021 |

Civil Eats |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

A new app is helping communities facing food insecurity in California. Forage Grocery finds the best bargains for SNAP recipients in their local grocery stores. Users upload their grocery list, select the stores they would typically visit in person, and the app compares prices to provide shoppers with a grocery list that makes the most of their SNAP benefits. The app also includes links and ads to local food banks and other resources for food insecurity.

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Three countries have pulled far ahead of the rest of the world in distributing Covid-19 vaccines

Annabelle Timsit

January 11, 2021 |

Quartz |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Israel

Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have each "vaccinated a higher proportion of their populations than the rest of the world" due to strategies that included early approval of the vaccine, centralized and digitized health care data management, and cross-sector information campaigns. Although it's yet to be seen how these efforts will fare when the vaccine is released to the general public, they have proven to be successful for distribution to vulnerable people and communities.

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How Singapore Has Kept the Coronavirus Off Campus

Sui-Lee Wee

January 09, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Singapore

Singapore's aggressive pandemic response in conjunction with strict university rules has helped keep campuses free of COVID-19 cases so far. As a country, free testing and medical care has ensured that positive cases can be isolated quickly, while at the university level, the use of technology, zoning rules, and penalties for those who do not comply have worked to safeguard public health.

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In Ghana, a New App is Striving to Save Fishermen's Livelihoods

Ciannait Khan

January 07, 2021 |

Reset |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Ghana

With more than 200 communities along the Ghana coast relying on small-scale fishing, a new app called DASE seeks to hold industrial trawlers accountable for illegally fishing in their seas. The app allows people to take a picture or video of the activity and upload it to a database where it can be used by law enforcement to act. The app is already being adapted for use in other African coastal countries.

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This California city just ended chronic homelessness

Adele Peters

January 06, 2021 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Bakersfield, California

The city of Bakersfield, California, was able to functionally end homelessness even with the onset of the pandemic, after implementing a data-driven strategy led by “Built for Zero.” The initiative focuses on frequent data collection which is then used to create a master command center that all agencies, shelters, and nonprofits work on in conjunction. Pooling resources and working together leads to clearer insight into where the most pressing need is and prevents unhoused people from falling through the cracks.

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