Identify a Problem and Propose a Solution – Season 2
Anyone can participate and no previous experience is required. You have identified a problem or challenge in your community worth tackling.
About Barstow Community College
Barstow Community College (BCC) is an open-access, comprehensive two-year institution serving a diverse student population in the Mojave region of San Bernardino County, California. The College’s campus is located in the City of Barstow, California, situated in California’s high desert, between Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Active Competitions: 2023
In 2023, there are two active categories of problem/solution projects at BCC. These competitions ask students and instructors to work with community leaders, organizers, and institution partners to expand BCC’s student-centered practical learning opportunities where learners build essential skill sets and become better prepared for the future, all while helping solve the problems of our community.
Each of these following challenges seeks to foster innovation, creativity, problem-solving through collaboration, and flexibility by asking students to brainstorm, design, reflect, retool, and rethink while engaging local organizations, college alumni, and community leaders to build momentum for their big ideas.
- Identify a Problem in Your Community
- Identify a Problem and Propose a Solution in Your Community
- Solve a Problem in Your Community (Coming Soon)
Prizes
- 1st Place: $10,000
- $7,500 to help implement your solution
- Up to $2,500 for your team ($500 per participating student, faculty staff from BCC)
- 2nd Place: $7,500
- $5,000 to help implement your solution
- Up to $2,500 for your team ($300 per participating student, faculty staff from BCC)
Competition Details
Identify a Problem and Propose a Solution in Your Community
This competition asks teams to identify a pressing community issue and propose an innovative solution.
Deadline: November 12, 2023
How to Successfully Identify a Problem in Your Community?
- Collaborative: A team approach that enlists members of the community to identify a problem
- Social Impact: A problem, if solved, will have a positive and measurable impact on the community
What Are We Looking For in a Solution?
- Innovative: A solution with a novel approach to address a social problem
- Collaborative: A project that engages and enlists others
- Social Impact: A solution with a positive and measurable impact
Who Can Apply?
Currently enrolled students may apply. There is no cost to participate in the competition and no prior experience is required.
One of the purposes of these competitions is to incentivize a goal or future achievement, so it is not necessary to have a solution implemented. Rather, a solution should be a well-thought-out proposal with some kind of prototyping, experimentation, or other evidence of viability.
- Joining The Competition
- Create or join a team. A team is required and must have a minimum of 2 members.
- Review the different competition types and start your application.
- Submit your application before the competition deadline(s).
- Evaluation of Submissions
- Once the applications are submitted, there will be a review period.
- Submissions will be reviewed by a select panel of experts.
- Approved submissions will be moved into the final round of judging.
- Judging & Selection Criteria
- Quality of Proposal: Is the proposed solution clearly defined and can it provide a quality outcome?
- Timeliness: Can the solution be implemented in a reasonable timeframe?
- Inclusivity: How well does the solution represent the key stakeholders within the community?
- Social Impact: What level of social impact does the solution provide to the members of the community?
How to Get Started
Below are helpful tips to get you started identifying local problems and/or solutions in your community:
- Talk to people in your community to find out what problems they are facing every day.
- Post problems you identify on social media, for instance on your neighborhood Facebook Group or on NextDoor asking for input. Read people’s posts to find out what issues are bothering them most.
- Talk to other students at your school — set up a table on campus with a sign asking for 5 minutes of their time to answer some questions. If possible, give away some snacks as a thank you; or create an online survey with questions about people’s community-related concerns and send it to your friends/family. Ask them to circulate it and post it on their social media pages.
- Invite your friends/family to participate in a video brainstorming session where you can talk through everyone’s ideas about problems they deem important in the community.
- Skim the local newspaper to find out what issues reporters are writing about, or visit your local government’s website/blog to see what issues they’re talking about. Reach out to local government representatives: the local Bureau of Economic Development, the mayor’s office, etc. to ask them about local problems. You can also attend a city council meeting to get some more ideas!
Before You Start Your Application
- You need a team of at least two individuals to apply.
- Use the “Save Draft” button to save your application before final submission.
- Pay attention to character and word limits.
- Your session will automatically time out after two hours.
- Submit your application by the submission deadline.
