An open innovation event where people come together from all walks of life to contribute to improving a social need. You do not have to be a tech rockstar or coder to take part, just someone with a passion for our region and a desire to see social change happen.

It is a deep learning opportunity and a great space to develop the ideas formed from the hackathon. The SIA will start in January 2023, and we will contact all those interested in going for the funding with the specifics. In the meantime, read the following short blog.

It is all about value for money – ACT wants every pound they put to work to have an increased chance of making a bigger difference to the people of North Essex. The Weave wants all businesses to benefit from a deep learning event that will support the development of the idea and build on practical business skills.

Many reasons come to mind; I attend hackathons because I enjoy collaboration, meeting new people, problem-solving and having fun. As a student, it will bolster your life skills and add to your CV. As a business, it is a safe place to practice innovation and get feedback on ideas with no fear of damaging your brand’s reputation. As an individual, you get to use your creativity and grow your networks. It is all about innovation and opportunity – who doesn’t want that? It is a mix of business and fun – so weekends offer us time.

This is an open event with one major stipulation; we are looking for people who want to deliver their solutions to the North Essex Community. If you live outside the region, you can still participate, but you must develop and test the solution here to gain access to the money.

Yes, we need you to be 18 years of age or over at the entry cut-off date.

No, if you have a specific skill like coding or app development, highlight this at the time of registration. All teams will need a mix of experiences, skills, and competencies to create a well-thought-through solution. Leadership and soft skills are also vital as the ability to pull together a team, create a presentation and communicate are essential.

No, anyone can participate as it’s online, but to be part of a team that wants to pitch for the funding, you must commit to delivering your solution to impact North Essex communities. If that’s not possible, but you still fancy being involved in a fun and creative event and want to share your ideas – register.

This is an open innovation event; therefore, all ideas are created in a shared space. We are not in the domain of protecting and ring-fencing creativity, so if you do not want to share your thinking, or disclose an aspect of your business, then don’t. Once you do, it is out there. The organisers accept no liability for ideas seeping into the ether and becoming ideas others develop and deliver on. If it is a great idea, focus on it and show how your execution would be the winning approach.

It is FREE, that is FREE to participate, free to join and free to enter the hackathon and participate in the social impact accelerator should you want to pitch. We can do that because Colbea has sourced funding for the event, and we have business sponsorship to help pay for the SIA.

Individuals are very welcome. Students and people passionate about creative problem-solving to make a social change are all essential to making the event come alive. It is a team challenge, so individuals will be assigned to teams for the duration of the hackathon.

Yes, and that is part of the real benefit. Not only does your brand present itself to someone new, but you also gain from the insights and ideas of others. If the person joining your team is a fit, they may eventually become a resource. If they work out, then great; if they do not, then all you have done is welcomed someone in for three days and say goodbye and thank you on Sunday.

Yes, you certainly can - but you must adhere to the international educational visa rules. Please see your University Visa Team if you have any concerns. Unfortunately, you cannot register as part of a business, or operate and own a business so attending the SIA may not be an option.

If the judges consider your idea viable, and you meet the requisite conditions of entry, then you can certainly go forward. To be eligible for the funding ACT may stipulate certain things such as being registered as a business - this will be made clearer closer to the time.

We have organised a series of mini-workshops throughout the weekend to help with creative problem solving, developing prototypes, and design thinking in general. Mentors will be assigned to the programme who can help you if you become stuck or bogged down.

This is a great event to learn new skills and bolster your CV and LinkedIn profiles. You will learn more about commercial problem solving, creativity and teamwork. You will be exposed to new tools that will help you design business ideas and also how to cooperate and collaborate with different people. At the end you will be provided with a certificate of participation.

You may be able to stipulate an idea that appeals to you, but team sizes are capped. You can select up to three ideas, in order of preference; we will try and oblige but cannot guarantee. You may be working with strangers - but that is the real fun - meeting new people and growing your confidence.

Other than organising yourselves, if you are a team or reading up on the event via the blogs and pages here, then not much. This is not a test but a celebration of creative thinking, so start getting creative.

We will use a mixture, but the weekend will be hosted on a system called Airmeet. It is a great platform to run events like this, with tables and conferencing areas, booths, and spaces for participants to engage with sponsors. We also set up Slack channels for teams and have a resource centre to get hold of canvases and ‘how-to’ documents. All will be explained – pre-registering on Airmeet will be needed. There will be a technical expert, but most of these systems are intuitive.

The challenge is broad. We are looking for ideas that address our region's mental and physical health, welfare and wellbeing that can be sustained through a viable business model. No matter what, it must go to make North Essex a better place for its communities to live. If you or your business can see themselves contributing to improving life in a meaningful way for others, you need to register.

The test of an event like this is how much work you can get done in the allotted time. The event starts at 4 PM on Friday the 18th of November 22 and finishes on Sunday the 20th in the evening when the winners of different categories will be announced. If you want to finish the work, staying up and doing it will be worth it. It can be exhausting and challenging, but if the solution means something to you all, why not work like a trojan to build a strong case?

There will be prizes for participation over the weekend; they will be funded via sponsorship and The Weave. The categories and rewards will be announced Friday evening at the event’s start. The £20,000 funding will be distributed at the end of the SIA in a pitching competition where the judges (to be confirmed but including ACTion Trustees) will decide on who gets what.

We will ask sponsors and members of The Weave team to be part of that panel.

No, it is unnecessary, but why wouldn’t you want to as it’s free? The Weave is looking to create events like these and develop entrepreneurial skills. We will deliver impact accelerators as part of our desire for all our regions to become entrepreneurial hotbeds. You can join The Weave here and sign up for our newsletters.

More information about Colbea can be found here – but we partner and collaborate with them on projects like this. Check out www.colbea.co.uk to find out more about their offer.

Formerly the charitable arm of ACE, ACT, distributed more than half-a-million pounds to the local region. Now newly capitalised they want to do more. You can find out about them at www.wearetheweave.co.uk/action-intro

Whether you are registering as a team and want to submit your idea, or register as an individual, simply use one of the buttons below. And don’t forget you will also need to grab your entry tickets from our hosting platform "Airmeet" – it is worth setting up an amazing profile to aid networking and sell your skills to others.