Stage 2: Test Solutions

Stage 2: Test Solutions provides funding for impact labs to develop and test solutions in collaboration with external partners. To be eligible, teams must have made significant progress defining the problem, have a specific solution or solutions in mind, and have a strong partnership in place.

While the funding is flexible, teams often use the funds to hire professional staff, fund data collection, or support partner costs. Successful Stage 2: Test Solutions investments will have advanced the frontiers of knowledge on a particular solution, while taking tangible steps along their path from science to impact. 

Putting Science to Work

Our second investment stage involves developing and testing solutions in real-world settings. These projects are not defined by their method and therefore reflect a variety of different approaches. For example: 

• A South Asian engineering firm, a Bangladesh-based research institute and Luby Lab are rigorously evaluating a new approach to reducing pollution from brick kilns in Bangladesh
• The US Environmental Protection Agency and RegLab are testing whether analysis of new data sources–like satellite technology–can improve detection of environmental noncompliance and ultimately improve environmental enforcement. In one setting, they found that analysis of satellite imagery could improve the detection of specific types of potential permit violations ~5x more efficiently than random audits. 
• In partnership with the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), Stanford’s Program on Energy and Sustainable Development conducted modeling on how to build a more reliable energy grid in California, engaged a number of stakeholders in interactive game-based workshops, and then used that feedback to improve their policy proposal. Based on this work, CPUC’s Energy Division submitted their policy recommendation for regulatory approval.

Our 2022 Stage 2: Test Solutions Request for Proposals includes detailed information about our investment process and criteria.