Frequently Asked Questions

The term “The Trinity Challenge” refers to two connected entities:

1. A public challenge, inviting the best work to promote the public good by the means of data & analytics and granting significant support and awards to the best contributions around pandemic preparedness and response for the inaugural round running from autumn 2020 to spring 2021.
2. A coalition of globally leading institutions from the private and public sector (“Founding members” and Members”) that has formed around the core idea of said challenge. The coalition is united by the common aim of using data and advanced analytics to develop insights and actions to contribute to a world better protected from health emergencies. The additional activities of this network beyond the public challenge are outlined on our website and in our publications.

We are learning lessons now to manage the next one better and, even more so, to try to avoid another one; this is the best time and opportunity to create global insights and shared learning. We expect some efforts to provide insights of value for the current COVID-19 crisis. However, if we do not widen our horizon beyond the current pandemic, we are bound to repeat the cycle of panic and neglect that has been detrimental to the sustainable improvement of our collective ability to identify, respond to and recover from health emergencies. This effort is committed to support the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, the WHO’s Target of 1 billion more people better protected from health emergencies, and strengthening vulnerable health systems.

Your work for the public good might benefit in three key areas from joining The Trinity Challenge:

• Public recognition In line with our aspiration to further the public good through data & analytics, we will promote any relevant contribution to The Trinity Challenge - potentially including you and your work – with an ongoing and extensive outreach through our own communication channels as well as our Members’ public and social media.

• Unparalleled support by global leaders from the private and public sector Core asset and distinguishing factor of The Trinity Challenge is the commitment of our Members, leading institutions in their respective fields and sectors, to support promising applications for The Trinity Challenge with the resources required to make a positive and lasting impact for the public good. Please find further details on the nature of this support and the terms of application in these FAQ.

• Significant awards We will award the best contributions to the first round of The Trinity Challenge with prizes from a pool of £10M. Selection of winners and distribution of prizes from that pool will happen at the discretion of a panel of judges representing various disciplines and backgrounds, through a quality-controlled, fair and transparent process.

For our first round of awards spring 2021, we are looking for any potential contribution which makes use of data and advanced analytics to help improve our ability to identify, respond to and recover from health emergencies related to infectious disease. This might come e.g.

• In form of a concept to be developed into an insight providing an objective and credible answer to broad or even very specific questions like “What are the zoonotic diseases with the highest potential to cause the next pandemic in 5-10 years from now?”

• As an application/tool/solution that is currently in conceptualization or prototype status and has the potential to be developed/piloted/scaled as an asset for the global public good

• As a replicable intervention that is informed and guided by analysis of objective criteria through data & analytics to significantly and sustainably improve our ability to predict, prevent, limit and mitigate emerging infectious diseases and/or their dire consequences for lives and livelihoods, globally

To apply for participation within the challenge you need to provide any idea, concept, prototype or other piece of work that has the potential to be developed into one of the above – if required, with support from our Founding Members and Members.

The inaugural Challenge was launched in September 2020. There are different processes for participation in collaboration with the network of Members or independent work to be submitted to The Challenge. 

Application for collaboration with Members of The Trinity Challenge:
Applications for collaboration have closed for the inaugural round of October 2020 - June 2021. We will welcome new applications for collaboration for our second challenge round in Autumn 2021.

Submission of results to be considered for awards
Solutions insights and results of collaborative or independent development can be submitted for the first round of The Trinity Challenge as early as April 1 until April 15 2021. 

Announcement of awards and awards event
We expect to announce the winners of the first round of The Trinity Challenge at a public in-person or online event in June, 2021.

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of experts from across the globe including low- and middle-income countries. Submissions will be considered against a range of baseline criteria, including but not limited to (i) alignment to Challenge focus and (ii) potential for impact, in addition to a series of criteria related to the potential of making an outstanding contribution to at least one additional area, including supporting vulnerable populations, showing outstanding conceptual and technical innovation, demonstrating a novel approach to data integrity, security and privacy.

You are encouraged, but not required to ask for any support from our Founding Members and Members you might require to turn your current work into something to be considered for The Trinity Challenge Awards.

On application, entrants will have the option/s to:

• Submit a “collaborative application”: Ask for support from Founding Members and Members with development of their challenge contribution. This support might come, for example, in the form of (privileged) access to data, technology, expertise or any other reasonable support applicants might ask for and Founding Members and Members might grant. (“Privileged access” to data sources is agreed upon using hosts information governance procedures).

• Submit an “independent application”: State that they do not require any kind of support from our Founding Members and Members for developing their Challenge contribution and solely rely on the resources (e.g. data, technology, expertise) they can mobilize themselves or from partners outside our Founding Member/Member network.

Collaborative and independent applications only differ by the fact that collaborative applications will undergo a subsequent matching process to enable the support asked for. Both have to submit the results of their work until April 15 2021 and will compete and be reviewed by the same standards to determine the winner of The Trinity Challenge in spring 2021.

Upon application, any potential Challenge Team will be asked if they request support from Founding Members or Members, and to describe what that support could be. These applications will be reviewed and presented to the Founding Members and Members, who will consider each application.

Yes, they are invited to make individual submissions, however partnering with additional organisations and institutions is strongly encouraged. The panel of experts and all parts of the review process are fully independent of the Founding Members and Members.

Challenge Teams are free to use and build on existing open source software and projects. Adherence to any legal requirements remains sole responsibility of the of the Challenge Teams/collaborators.

Challenge Teams are free to use existing code and content, and build on their existing and on-going work to submit the best insights possible. Adherence to any legal requirements remains sole responsibility of the Challenge Teams/collaborators.

The Founding Members of The Trinity Challenge include (in alphabetical order): Aviva, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Brunswick Group, Discovery Group, Facebook, GlaxoSmithKline, Global Virome Project, Google, HKUMed, Internews, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, Institute of Health Metrics Evaluation, Legal & General, London School of Economics, McKinsey & Co., Microsoft, Northeastern University, Optum, Patrick McGovern Foundation, Reckitt Benckiser, Tencent and University of Cambridge.

Founding Members design and deliver The Trinity Challenge; support Challenge Teams by providing a mix of “privileged access” to data, analytical and technical support, and other resources; and engage in collaborations with other Founding Members and Members.

A Challenge Team is any individual or group of individuals who submits an idea or insight to the Challenge. Whilst we expect success to come from Challenge Teams that are collaborations between applicants and Founding Members or members of The Trinity Challenge coalition, any group or individual may wish to submit independent of completing an application for support (see below). The same guidelines, rules and review criteria apply to collaborative and independent Challenge Teams.

The sensitive and sophisticated use of data and analytics which extends beyond diseases, geographies and organisational boundaries is a great enabler for improving our ability to identify, respond to and recover from health emergencies. It is our firm belief that the potential to use humanities vast capabilities in data & analytics for the public good is not yet realized even remotely.

Challenge Teams may:

• Ask for support from Founding Members and Members, agreeing “privileged access” to data sources and using hosts information governance procedures, in addition to using their own data assets or publicly available data sources.

• Use their own data assets, bring in other organisations and use their data assets, in addition to publicly available data.

• Enter directly without the support of Founding Members, Members or other organisations and solely rely on their own data assets, resources & capabilities.

Any data, technologies or methodologies that Challenge Teams use that are privately held remain proprietary property of the organisation or individual. It is expected that the outputs (insights, tools and approaches) that are submitted for judging will be made publicly available for the public good following the Challenge.

The terms of any collaboration are discussed, decided upon and contracted between the potential future collaborators (Founding Members, Members and Challenge Teams) individually. These terms need to respect the guardrails of The Trinity Challenge, which include:

• Adhering to the principles of respect, integrity and transparency in relation to TTC and the Challenges

• Promoting the values of open collaboration, open data (to the extent possible) and making the benefits of The Trinity Challenge global and accessible

• Respecting and abiding by the information governance arrangements and procedures of partners and collaborators

To ensure transparency, Terms of any collaboration will be published on thetrinitychallenge.org after being signed by all collaborators, unless prohibited by other legal obligations.

Challenge Teams can define their working mode and norms. However, all collaborative development will have to follow The Trinity Challenge guardrails outlined above. It will be assumed that any Member sharing data within TTC does so in accordance with relevant and applicable legal and regulatory standards and obligations including, but not limited to, confidentiality, data protection and intellectual property. Founding Members will collaborate with the Challenge Teams, and in some circumstances, provide access to data under their own data governance arrangements. Challenge Teams must adhere to these policies and processes. Adherence to any legal requirements remains sole responsibility of the Challenge Teams/collaborators.