We’ve launched a new “matchmaking” feature to connect nonprofits on the frontlines facing a surge in mobility needs to public transportation assets that might be able to support them due to a reduction in regular service.
About the
Paradox Prize
Transforming lives and Northeast Ohio’s economy
For decades, industrial, commercial and residential development has migrated outward, but there has been no net increase in jobs or population to substantiate the regional spread. The result: Jobs are farther and farther away from where people live, which creates a disconnect between people and the economy. This disconnect has real costs: People spend more time and money commuting, if they can get to a job at all; businesses struggle to fill open positions; municipalities spend on infrastructure to support new development while having to maintain the underutilized assets left behind; and our environment suffers as air quality declines due to long, car-based commutes. Ultimately, our regional economy loses its competitive edge.
Launched in June 2019, The Paradox Prize aims to inspire sustainable solutions that can eradicate the ‘no car, no job; no job, no car’ paradox in Northeast Ohio. Through three rounds of open competition, we have awarded nearly all of the $1 million in prize money to support a number of pilots that are testing ideas that have the potential to improve the mobility of hundreds of Northeast Ohioans and help businesses access the talent they need. Learn more about the winners below, and stay tuned for more details on future opportunities.
Round 1 Winners
Manufacturing Works
Award: $100,000
Connecting, in conjunction with the Cleveland Clergy Coalition and the American Association of Clergy and Employers, church-based neighborhood hubs in Lee-Harvard and Glenville in Cleveland to job hubs in Strongsville and Solon, using church vans that typically sit idle throughout the week.
Akron METRO
Award: $75,000
Testing its FlexRide program, a door-to-door, on-demand service connecting workers to job hubs in northern Summit County, in conjunction with ConxusNEO.
SHARE
Award: $16,000
Working with Express Employment Professionals to provide ride-sharing service for job seekers from East Cleveland, Euclid and Glenville to the Mentor/Painesville job hub.
Round 2 Winners
Community Action Wayne/Medina
Award: $100,000
Implementing dynamic routing software to build upon an existing program and create an on-demand vanpooling option, enabling multiple users with differing origins and destinations to access an affordable, efficient service.
LakeTran
Award: $75,000
Testing a new van service from underserved areas to high-paying manufacturing jobs in Lake County, working closely with employers, the Lake County Board of Commissioners and the Lake County Ohio Port & Economic Development Authority.
Round 3 Winners
Strengthening Stark
Award: $100,000
Connecting workers with workforce mobility solutions, wraparound services and job training. Working collectively with a half a dozen local agencies, including SARTA, to deliver innovative mass transit and on-demand point-to-point solution
Lorain County
Award: $100,000
Nearly a dozen Lorain County agencies have come together to test 24/7 work transportation solutions in portions of Lorain, Elyria and Oberlin through expanded public transit service and access to electric car sharing, with the potential to serve several hundreds of under-served residents.
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
Award: $100,000
In partnership with The Centers, piloting a Career Navigation Program for participants in entry-level job training to explore the use of public transportation service and its cost as part of GCRTA’s ongoing research regarding fare equity.
MetroHealth
Award: $98,000
Testing whether a transit subsidy and the development of accompanying commuter programs will shift users from driving alone to using transit, and how this potential behavior change might influence employee recruitment and retention.
Advisory
committee
*Also a member of the Selection Committee
Bishara Addison, Towards Employment
Curtis Baker, AMATS
Nelson Beckford, The Cleveland Foundation*
Debbie Berry, University Circle Inc.
Adam Briggs, The Briggs Family Funds *
India Birdsong, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
Alicia Booker, Cuyahoga Community College*
Bethia Burke, Fund for Our Economic Future*
Ben Capelle, NEORide
Ted Carter, Cuyahoga County *
Kirt Conrad, SARTA
Robert DeJournett, Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce
Dawn Distler, METRO Regional Transit Authority
Sheri Dozier, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress*
Rich Granger, DriveOhio*
Chris Hitchcock, The Lozick Family Foundation *
Jim Kinnick, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments
Rahul Kumar, Keolis North America
Sue Lacy, ConxusNEO
Victor Leandry, MOVE Lorain County
Dominic Mathew, Fund for Our Economic Future *
Marty McGann, Greater Cleveland Partnership *
John Mitterholzer, The George Gund Foundation *
Melissa Pearce, Community Action Wayne/Medina
John T. Petures, Jr., Akron Community Foundation *
Jeffrey Sleasman, Clevelanders for Public Transit
Sponsors
Community
Partners
- Akron Community Foundation
- Akron METRO Regional Transit Authority
- AMATS
- The Briggs Family Funds
- Clevelanders for Public Transit
- Cleveland Neighborhood Progress
- ConxusNEO
- Community Action Wayne/Medina
- Cuyahoga Community College
- Eastgate Regional Council of Governments
- The George Gund Foundation
- Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Cleveland RTA
- Keolis
- MOVE Lorain County
- NEORide
- Stark Area Regional Transit Authority
- Strengthening Stark
- Towards Employment
- University Circle Inc.
Latest news
Nov 11 2020
Pilot project seeks to incentivize public transit use, improve recruitment and retention, and influence social determinants of health among employees
Apr 17 2020
Strengthening Stark pilot aims to help 100 people.
Apr 10 2020
New "matchmaking" feature added to website; Round 3 winners to get started on pilots
Jan 26 2020
WOOSTER — A lack of reliable transportation limited Glen DeHart’s employment prospects. He could only apply to jobs close to...
Jan 24 2020
SARTA announced this week it is adding express routes in western Stark County and around the Akron-Canton Airport in order...
Jan 16 2020
Lake County officials recently collaborated with Lincoln Electric's Mentor facility and Component Repair Technologies to develop an approach to connect...
Jan 06 2020
As more jobs are located in the suburbs, The Fund For Our Economic Future's Paradox Prize aims to make the...
Nov 18 2019
Northeast Ohio is a region built for the car, evidenced by cross-cutting freeways and huge parking lots that dominate the...
Nov 12 2019
Share, a ride-sharing company, was awarded $16,000 from The Paradox Prize for helping job seekers and workers in East Cleveland,...
Oct 14 2019
CLEVELAND, Ohio - It’s called the “transportation paradox” and it goes like this. “No car, no job; no job, no...
Oct 04 2019
CLEVELAND — Community Action Wayne/Medina has won $100,000 as part of The Paradox Prize, a competition to support pilot programs...
Oct 04 2019
There are two more winners of funding in The Paradox Prize initiative, a program created by the nonprofit Fund for...
Oct 04 2019
CLEVELAND--October 4, 2019--Community Action Wayne/Medina and Laketran have won funding to support pilot efforts that will connect people to jobs...
Sep 10 2019
CLEVELAND--September 10, 2019--Cuyahoga County and the Cleveland Foundation have joined the Fund for Our Economic Future, the National Fund for...
Aug 20 2019
The first winners of the Paradox Prize are helping to bridge the transportation gap for Northeast Ohio workers. Three ideas...
Aug 12 2019
Three projects are getting a combined $191,000 from The Fund for Our Economic Future as part of the Paradox Prize,...
Aug 09 2019
What if church vans were used during the week to transport nearby residents to work in job hubs that are...
Aug 09 2019
The Fund for Our Economic Future today announced the first three winners in its $1 million Paradox Prize competition, a...
Aug 09 2019
Three ideas to make it easier for people to get to work will share $191,000 to bring their ideas to...
Aug 09 2019
The Paradox Prize announced the first winners in its competition to connect Northeast Ohioans with job centers. The top award...
Aug 09 2019
The Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority has nabbed a $75,000 grant from the Cleveland-based Fund for Our Economic Future to...
Jun 23 2019
Academic research, anecdotes and common sense tell us that Northeast Ohio suffers from a workforce mismatch, with a lack of...
Jun 18 2019
The folks at the Fund for Our Economic Future and other organizations want to hear from you. Well, more specifically,...
Jun 16 2019
For years, manufacturers have said they struggle to find reliable workers who can show up on time, day after day....
Jun 06 2019
Interested in getting part of a $1 million prize? Then come up with a good idea — a big idea...
Jun 06 2019
Residents across Northeast Ohio are faced with an untenable choice: a commute by public transit that can be as long...
Jun 04 2019
Connecting workers to available jobs involves bridging the skills gap, but that's not all. To get and keep a job,...
Jun 04 2019
Electric scooter rentals will be allowed in targeted areas of Cleveland this summer as part of a pilot project to...
Jun 04 2019
“For decades, industrial, commercial and residential development has migrated outward, but there has been no net increase in jobs or...
Jun 03 2019
The Fund for Our Economic Future, in conjunction with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, The...
Jun 03 2019
The Fund for Our Economic Future, in conjunction with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, The...
Jun 03 2019
The Fund for Our Economic Future is putting $1 million behind an effort to help solve what it calls the...
May 23 2019
Worker mobility, or transportation to available employment, stands as a barrier for many people who live in urban areas or...
May 17 2019
Introducing a new podcast called Merge Now, a weekly series of conversations with the people who are helping to shape...
May 13 2019
It’s the classic chicken-or-egg paradox, but in transportation terms: If you have no car, you can’t get a job. If...
Apr 08 2019
Too many of the region’s workers face an intractable scenario: no car, no job; no job, no car. This stems...
Mar 26 2019
Residents across Northeast Ohio are faced with an untenable choice: a commute by public transit that can be as long...