Ocean Innovation Challenge

The Ocean Innovation Challenge (OIC) has issued its first call for applications. OIC is a unique new mechanism designed to accelerate progress on SDG14 by the identifying, financing, advising and mentoring of truly innovative, entrepreneurial and creative approaches to ocean and coastal restoration and protection that sustains livelihoods and advances the ’blue economy’. OIC has announced its plans to issue a series of 'Ocean Challenges' or Requests for Proposals, each focused on a specific SDG14 target. The first 'Ocean Challenge 'seeks innovative solutions to counter the scourge of SDG14.1 Ocean Pollution.

The goal of the OIC is “To accelerate progress on SDG14 by catalysing replicable and scalable innovations - including technical, policy, economic and financial - that can be sustained and contribute directly to delivery of one or more SDG14 targets,”.

"Innovation" here can include both truly new approaches, or the transfer or adaptation of existing proven approaches to new contexts and/or locales.

Project proposals must be implemented in and benefit stakeholders in developing countries but may be submitted by applicants in either developing or developed countries. All proposals should include a special focus on ensuring gender equity, livelihoods of the poor and poverty eradication.

Initial Concept Notes are being accepted at this stage. Concepts passing initial review and meeting OIC criteria will be invited to submit full proposals for further internal and external ("peer") review and consideration.

Some examples of the types of innovative initiatives that could be funded:

The OIC's first Ocean Challenge focuses on SDG14.1, Ocean pollution, with a strong focus on nutrients and plastics from land-based sources (such as agriculture, wastewater and poorly managed solid waste) while recognizing that ocean-based sources are also important sources for some types of plastics pollution (such as abandoned/lost fishing nets).

While by no means exhaustive, some general examples of the types of innovations that could be considered include:

Marine Litter/Plastics:

• Design, manufacturing, supply chain and other innovations that serve to reduce plastics utilization and/or enhance plastics recovery, recycling and re-use
• Design and manufacturing of truly biodegradable substitutes for plastics
• Design of recyclable plastic resins that can replace non-recyclable resins in similar products
• Introduction of plastics waste collection, recycling and re-use programmes in developing country municipalities including mechanisms for full cost recovery (such as container deposit laws)
• Financial, policy, regulatory or other incentives that minimize loss of fishing nets and optimize their recovery for re-use or recycling
• Economic, policy, regulatory and other measures/incentives to minimize or eliminate use of unnecessary single use plastic items

Nutrients:

• Innovations in fertilizer design, manufacture and/or application that minimize fertilizer nitrogen loss from fields and maximize uptake by crops;
• Introduction of market-based instruments that promote more efficient fertilizer use in watersheds/coastal areas facing nutrient pollution (tradeable emission permits, pollution taxes, etc.)
• Testing policy, regulatory and/or economic incentives that promote safe collection, recovery and re-use of nutrients from municipal and/or agricultural wastewater.
• Piloting of scalable 'non-traditional' wastewater collection and/or treatment approaches such as local wastewater source separation for safe collection and re-use of nutrients, etc.