D&AD Impact

This category encompasses all ideas that impact the natural world. 

From the preservation of the planet to enabling communities to live sustainably and responsibly, the ‘Environment and Sustainability’ category covers everything that has an impact on nature, wildlife and the health of our environments.

This includes the conservation of oceans, wildlife, habitats and resources, alongside meeting and benefiting the needs of a growing global urban population through responsible retail and smart technology.

This category may be for innovations that are working to preserve ecosystems, creating renewable energy sources or introducing new ways of living that are more efficient, economical and sustainable. They could cover the development of new technologies that help communities manage and reduce their consumption, provide actionable steps towards combating climate change and pollution, work to end poaching, or to improve local infrastructures. 

Initiatives and campaigns entered could look at challenging the decision-making of consumers, seek to balance the ever-scaling demand with the reduction of waste, or educate on the repurposing of products in order to reduce environmental impact, engage in sustainable farming or improving efficiency.

The scope is broad, but all entries must be currently impacting, or aiming to impact, the environment and the place of humans within it, in a positive way.

This category covers ideas that focus on human health and wellness.

This includes work that looks to improve healthcare technology and methodology, to advance medical science and innovations in personal and state care, or to contribute to wellness through fitness, diet or positive mental health practices.

Initiatives in this category may range from driving an improvement in medical care to increasing the affordability of, and access to, healthcare services on a local, national or international level. In addition, entries in this category may be focused on improving the supply of water, sanitation or hygiene facilities; changing behaviours by teaching healthy living techniques; or raising awareness of self-care.

Product entries may be empowering people to live well and overcome health challenges, through the invention of support systems, medicines and treatments, or improvements in the efficiency and safety of healthcare methods as a way of reducing mortality rates or providing solutions for under-resourced medical centres.

Entries into this category can cover an array of topics and themes, but must all be created in order to better the health and wellness of a human population.

This category covers all ideas that look to improve the techniques, scale and effectiveness of humanitarian aid.

This includes anything that takes a unique approach to support these causes through fundraising, awareness, directly providing aid or facilitating the safe delivery of vital resources.

Initiatives entered into this category could include the provision of materials, logistics or legal aid, or repurposing services in imaginative ways during times of crisis. 

Ideas and products may be aimed at tackling an array of social and environmental issues including fighting hunger and poverty, supporting homeless populations (including veterans), preventing the spread of disease, and easing the scale of conflict. 

Campaigns may support the provision of food, water, medicine and infrastructure, or lobby for peace and unity in some of the world’s most impacted areas.

All entries in this category should be designed to increase an improve the level of aid given to populations in need.

This category is for ideas that enhance the way individuals, communities, companies and governments interact with one another.

This includes projects that are engaging some of the most hard-to-reach communities by providing access to information or promoting a democracy of power, transparency and accountability.

Work entered may include the development of communication platforms between citizens and governments, educating people on their civil liberties and the legislation that affects them, or the encouragement to take part in more active citizenship.

Campaigns and products might seek to develop changes in communication technologies, or promote a change in the way people absorb or interact with content focused on matters of public health, safety and education. 

Initiatives may include the revival of lost traditions to connect people across generations and cultures, or a collaboration with communities to find solutions which prioritise the needs of the people. 

Entries into this category must focus on generating tangible changes that improve community and civic engagement. They can also promote movement across countries and/or communities.

This category covers ideas that improve, or aim to improve, the levels of equality and diversity within populations.

This may encompass ideas that make the world a more accepting, fairer place, where individual differences are valued and embraced instead of discriminated against.

Work could focus on the topics of ethnicity, sexual orientation, language, nationality, neurodiversity, disability, gender, age, socioeconomic status and/or class.

Products entered into this category may also look at making alterations to clothing, physical aids or spaces in order to better accommodate people with disabilities. They could also be breaking down barriers and decreasing the levels of discrimination and the impact this has on populations.

Campaigns and initiatives might look to promote equal rights and empower individuals or communities in order to reduce the exploitation, discrimination and violence they may experience. They could look to use new systems and technologies to provide better access to services or to educate people on the issue of diversity. 

All entries into this category must either break/challenge stereotypes, make use of positive discrimination as a way of generating positive social change or provide a platform for marginalised groups.

This category covers all work that empowers people and communities to improve their circumstances through educational and financial understanding.

This includes ideas that provide support and access to educational and financial resources as well as work that alters the way knowledge is transferred, either by developing new platforms, facilitating learning or changing the way communities interact with money.

Projects entered may strive to make learning more accessible and effective, both inside and outside the classroom and, perhaps, in the virtual world. They may have been created to innovate within traditional organisations or services, or to develop new technologies and networks that go beyond the usual boundaries that teachers, students and entrepreneurs experience.

Initiatives may be working to enhance the levels of financial literacy, as well as the capabilities of local entrepreneurs in order to assist the growth of fledgeling businesses. 

Campaigns and products may focus on educating populations on the way that they use fintech tools and services, lending them better control of their personal and business finances. They may seek to educate populations and nations on the way that their consumer decisions may impact those at the early stages of the production cycle.

All entries into this category must be able to provide evidence of improving the skills of populations by making learning and information more accessible.

Through our Future Impact Programme, we aim to support great ideas that have the potential to change the world. 

Up to 10 winners will have access to a shared prize fund worth $150,000 and delivered over 12-months. The fund combines consultancy, mentoring, masterclasses and development grants, as well as access to a creative, peer-driven network. 

Our mission? To enable our first cohort of Future Impacters to deliver tangible impact in their category area within 12 months.

A D&AD Future Impact Pencil
A place on the D&AD Future Impact Accelerator
10 hours of mentoring from the D&AD Impact Council and your Future Impact peers
A ticket to the Presenting Creative Work Masterclass
12-month membership of the D&AD Digital Campus 
A pass to the D&AD Festival 2020
The opportunity to pitch at the D&AD Festival 2020 to gain support from VCs and creatives 
A dedicated space at the D&AD Impact exhibition in London
Free entry into the Impact Awards, valid for 3 years
12-month membership of D&AD 
12 months of exposure to a global audience through D&AD and third party press

A $20,000 development grant and $10,000 travel bursary will be apportioned to the winners at the discretion of the Impact Council.

Shortlisted entrants will be included on the D&AD Impact Future Ones to Watch list and published on the D&AD website.

The D&AD Future Impact Accelerator is a 2 day bootcamp, held from 6–7 November in New York. It combines a unique blend of expert advice, practical workshops, ongoing mentoring, talks and peer to peer support all designed to help your idea flourish and your business thrive.

The accelerator will be open to winners of the Future Impact Programme and selected shortlisted entrants only. When submitting your work you will be asked whether you would like to attend, and what you hope to gain from participating, and what you can offer to your peers who will be in attendance. Shortlisted entrants will be invited at the judges’ discretion and based on the information provided.

As part of your entry, please advise where you would be travelling from and whether you would need access to a travel bursary. If you're applying, you will need to be in New York from 6–7 November.

Details of the programme and speakers will be released in the summer. Please check back for more information.

As a minimum, entrants must have established proof of concept and be able to demonstrate the potential for impact. 

Prototypes, ideas that are approaching or undergoing testing, projects seeking funding and products in production are all eligible. New product/service lines or campaign parts are also eligible under the same conditions. 

Work that has been released, but has not yet made an impact, will be eligible for the Future Impact Programme.

On entry, work that is identified as having the potential for impact will automatically be eligible for a place on the Future Impact Programme.