Impactful project ideas for social good!
Social good comes in many shapes and sizes, however, the end goal is always to have a positive impact on communities and society as a whole.
At TAIKAI, we believe community-centric models are the key to a prosperous society by driving innovation and ensuring transparency.
One way to foster social good innovation is through hackathons: a marathon-like event where people come together and bring their ideas and solutions to life.
We’ve hosted several social good and sustainability hackathons and the outcome was incredible!
From projects that aim to improve conditions in neighborhoods, to using NFTs and blockchain that allow vulnerable people access to education, there’s no lack of ideas when it comes to developing impactful social good projects.
Here are 7 impactful project ideas for social good:
Blockchain Online learning platform 📘
The first project idea is from team “ELAB”, which participated and won the Bounce back hackathon!
Their project idea combines gamification and NFTs, via a blockchain, into an online learning platform, allowing those in less favored situations to receive training and education.
This revolutionary idea applies a “play-to-learn” concept: by advancing in their studies, players can build a character and equipment that’s NFT based. This means that they are rightful owners of their in-game NFT properties, which hold real-life value.
Currently, the majority of students in poverty conditions drop out of school to be able to financially support their families. For bottom of the pyramid households, this project idea can be game-changing (pun intended), providing both a source of income and a higher level of studies.
Project Idea 💡
Apply blockchain technology, NFTs and gamification to learning programs.
Smart pill dispenser 💊
Team “EGA” was the winner of the Hack for Good @ Home hackathon, and rightfully so!
Their project targeted a vulnerable social group: elderly people.
Taking a look at Portugal’s example — where 22% of the population is more than 65 years old — it’s clear to see that there’s a social group in need of support tools.
EGA, which stands for “Electronic Geriatric Aid”, is a smart pill dispenser that both organizes and delivers pills, and has an integrated warning system that can alert either the designated caretaker or a close family member when a dose is missed.
Bringing smart, automated tools to this demographic is certainly a step in the right direction, enabling an extra level of caretaking and relying less on human presence.
Project Idea 💡
There are plenty of ideas to be unveiled in the smart product market and IoT. Focusing on a specific demographic or problem can help you come up with great ideas, just like this one.
Digital platform for citizen proposals 🏘️
The next project is called “Get Together”, and was developed under HackaBIP — a hackathon that aimed to find solutions to improve neighborhood communities.
The team behind this project developed a digital platform that unites citizens, allowing them to make their own proposals for local development.
They believe that citizens should have an active voice in the development of the spaces they inhabit and frequent in their daily lives.
Citizens can create project proposals by combining existing elements in a library to create personalized projects. These projects are created individually by citizens who log into the platform, and serve as a basis for civic discussion.
The platform would be gamified, by assigning scores to the most engaged citizens.
There is also space for debate and voting within the platform.
Project Idea 💡
Develop a platform that can work as a local community hub. The possibilities are endless as we saw with this project. Proposals, voting, or discussion forums are a few tools you can design in the platform!
Decentralized energy sources 🔋
One topic that’s been in the spotlight lately is energy efficiency and the transition to renewable energy. “Code Green” was a project developed under the “Hack for Earth” hackathon, and aimed to decentralize energy sources!
The solution they designed aimed to decentralize the source of energy from huge power plants generating fossil fuel energy.
By localising clean energy generation, distribution and consumption via a circular consumption energy model, in their idea everyone will play an important role in generating clean, renewable energy.
Some of the enablers to implement this system include:
- Sustainable waste management system with mini recycling plants that convert waste to energy and distribute electricity locally.
- Pressure sensors on roads and footpaths that convert pressure into energy and can be fed into a battery, to be distributed later around a local vicinity.
Project Idea 💡
Decentralized energy sources. There’s still plenty to discover in this field, and many ideas can come to life and have real use cases, whether on a local or worldwide scale.
Digital platform to connect migrants 🫂
Another fantastic project that came second in the “Bounce Back” hackathon, was the “META”: a digital platform that connects people — more specifically — migrants.
We’ve seen mass migrations in the last decade all over the world. Some due to wars, others due to natural disasters or poverty, but there’s one aspect in common: the lack of support tools and the many logistical (and physical) barriers migrants face.
The “Meta” project is a dual-purpose digital platform that seeks to connect migrants with their local supply of financial products and services by providing information on bank accounts, credits, remittances, and other financial products and services, as well as developing financial skills.
Meta will employ artificial intelligence to analyze the user’s profile and create a predictive model that offers options based on age, gender, educational level, and other socioeconomic data, with the goal of providing tools to manage income, encourage savings habits, and financial planning.
Project Idea 💡
Develop a unique digital platform that can target a specific community and/or a specific topic, like finances. Take inspiration from “ELAB”, “Get Together” and “META” project ideas to craft your own, tailored to the needs of your community!
Modular eco-hub 🛖
“AGAT” is another project from the “Hack for Earth” hackathon that made waves — a modular eco-hub powered by renewable energy to improve education and innovation for children in rural regions.
This hub can provide internet connectivity, removing the need for children to travel long distances to school.
Given it’s a modular concept, it’s capable of adapting to different classes and space restrictions. It’s easy to assemble anywhere and has the basic needs to provide a similar classroom experience.
It’s also sustainable, resorting to solar panels to produce energy for projectors and laptops.
Project Idea 💡
A modular-eco hub can be used in a multitude of industries. From schools to urban agriculture, there are many implementations possible with this solution.
Gamified green mobile app 🎮
Our last social good project idea is called “Pelo Bairro” (around the neighborhood), a project that finished second in the “HackaBIP” challenge.
The team developed a mobile application to encourage green mobility in neighborhoods in order to boost local commerce, enjoy public spaces, and communicate what the community and public agents can do to improve it.
The purpose was to develop a mobile application that covers cycle pathways and bicycle parking, as well as pedestrian paths and other locations suited for various forms of transport.
They developed an incentive program based on the number of kilometers driven by the user in order to improve green mobility.
They also used Google Maps as secondary data, and in an advanced stage of development, the goal is to allow users to include unmapped establishments in the application.
Project Idea 💡
A gamified mobile application with the end goal of massifying adherence to greener transportation. This type of mobility and social good projects can have a significant impact, especially if you can get local authorities and governments on board!
These are some of the most impactful project ideas for social good!
Communities face endless challenges, whether locally or on a global scale. It’s up to all of us to think forward and design solutions so that the next generations can have a better, more sustainable future.
