Put your solutions to Metro Manila's problems to the test via the Civic Innovation Fellowship

Ever saw the longest, dumbest traffic jam and yelled out a solution from the confines of your car, reaching a lonely audience of one (i.e. you)?

Put your genius to the test and see if you can actually solve the plethora of problems in Metro Manila right now through the Civic Innovation Fellowship. But a caveat: Because it is organized by Five by Five — an international open innovation consultancy — in partnership with the local government of Marikina City, the focus will be the beautiful, already highly livable Marikina City.

The fellowship focuses on three key challenges in the fair city:

• Adapting Marikina River Park’s design for long-term sustainability
• Delivering high-quality medical care to mothers and infants through design
• Re-designing daycare facilities for better usability by preschoolers

An "open call" is also available for applicants who have their own ideas on how to make Marikina a smart, more livable city.

"The City of Marikina values creative thinking in addressing the complex problems of our community. Like any other city, our problems require real world problem solving that has a pragmatic impact to our people," Makati City Mayor Marcellino Teodoro was quoted as saying.

Architects, engineers, historians, and plain old doers  with a passion for urbanism are encouraged to visit civicinnovationfellowship.com and fill out the online application.

The deadline for submissions is on August 16. The official list of fellows will be released on August 31.

Successful applicants will have the privilege of spending two weeks (September 18 to 29) with a number of mentors to help make their vision for Marikina a reality, including:

• Reinabelle Reyes, Data Scientist, ZLift Solutions & Deal Grocer
• Dr. Alan Pineda, Officer-in-Charge, Hydrometeorological Division, PAGASA
• Cecile Monteil, M.D., Medical Director, iLUMENS
• Renaud Visage, Co-founder & CTO,Eventbrite
• Eufrosina Nazareta, Architect, C.C. Buencamino Architect
• Frédéric Bardolle, CTO, Data for Good
• Eva Hoffmann, Urban design & Mechanical Engineer
• Miko Cañares, Regional Research Manager Asia, World Wide Web Foundation

The Civic Innovation Fellowship was first held in Paris, France in 2016.

"Choosing the Philippines as the next stop of the Civic Innovation Fellowship was
something that came to us naturally as we started asking the hard questions: How do we create cities that are resilient, safe, and humane? How can local governments redefine the way they serve citizens and test ideas that are grounded on the challenges faced by the city?" Metro Manila Civic Innovation Fellowship Program Director Ivy Ong said in a statement.

She added, "Five by Five is excited to work alongside the Marikina City government in attracting highly talented innovators hungriest for change and matching them with key public managers to address challenges together.”

Five by Five is an organization advocating open innovation that transforms, scales, and makes sense. Its founder is Filipina Kat Borlongan. 

Check out civicinnovationfellowship.com for more details, or follow them on social media through Twitter and Facebook. — AT/LA, GMA News