Ashoka-Lemelson Fellowship Program
Ashoka, Lemelson Fellowship Program: Using the resources and partners that Lemelson Foundation partnered with Ashoka have developed, the project identifies, support, and recognize individuals whose innovations provide new solutions for achieving sustainable social change.
Ashoka applies its search-and-selection methodology to identify early-stage and advanced-stage inventor-entrepreneurs, primarily in Africa, Latin America and Asia who are working to solve the word’s intractable problems.
Using its long-established selection criteria and five-step process, Ashoka elects into the program those social entrepreneurs who fit into one of the following four categories:
- Individuals who have invented a technology or creatively redesigned or adapted an existing technology;
- Individuals who use a new technology to teach or grow new inventors, or who employ an innovative approach to inspiring young people to study or pursue careers in science and technology;
- Individuals who are developing new economic models and marketing strategies for disseminating technologies to those earning less than $2-3 a day; or
- Individuals whose work creates an enabling environment for invention-led development.
Further, the Ashoka-Lemelson Fellows Program will unite three strategies of The Lemelson Foundation – mentoring, recognition, and dissemination – to support inventor-entrepreneurs. For example:
- Linking inventor-entrepreneurs to Ashoka’s strategic partners around the globe will provide fellows with critical mentoring support;
- Regional ceremonies and workshops will provide national recognition of new Fellows’ work;
- Publicity and press events will disseminate informationand draw attention to the importance of invention and innovation; and Support for the development of creative business models will ensure that technologies are disseminated to those living on less than $2-3 a day.
Contact details: Ashoka Global Headquarters, 1700 North Moore Street, Suite 2000 (20th Floor) Arlington, VA 22209, United States. Tel: +1 703 527 8300. Fax: +1 703 527 8383. Email: info [at] ashoka.org
For more information, contact: Ashoka-Lemelson Fellowship Program Website