NO CAR, NO JOB.
NO JOB, NO CAR.
Can you solve The Transportation Paradox?
NO CAR, NO JOB.
$1 Million
In Support Available.
Through The Paradox Prize, the Fund for Our Economic Future, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Greater Cleveland Partnership, The Lozick Family Foundation, Cuyahoga County, the Cleveland Foundation, and DriveOhio are seeking to invest in big ideas to improve the mobility of Northeast Ohioans stranded economically by their geography. Your idea will help residents connect to tens of thousands of open positions with paths to family-sustaining wages.
The Paradox Prize is about solving chicken-or-the-egg-type challenges to transform lives and Northeast Ohio’s economy.
How we got here is
why they can’t
get there
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.
“My car broke down and I had to choose between walking to work or to my daughter’s daycare. I chose daycare and lost my job.”
Jess
Single Father, Works 2 Jobs
“We may be missing out on top talent simply because individuals without access to transportation won’t apply for positions outside their immediate area.”
Ina
HR Exec at Fortune 500 Company
Note: These stories are fictional but based on interviews with actual Northeast Ohio workers and employers.
Incentivizing
Breakthroughs
Transforming lives and Northeast Ohio’s economy
The mission of this inaugural challenge for The Paradox Prize is to inspire innovations through an open call for ideas aimed at generating sustainable solutions that will eradicate the ‘no car, no job; no job, no car’ paradox in Northeast Ohio.
How does the Paradox Prize work?
Anyone with a good idea can apply. We’ll grant funding (awards will range from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on the needs and potential impact of each project) as well as technical assistance to help further develop early-stage concepts. We will be reviewing applications through a series of deadlines and will award funding or technical assistance in rounds until funding is exhausted. We expect to do three rounds in 2019. (See the timeline for more details.)
If your idea is not yet ready for implementation, we’re here to work with you. Please refer to the timeline below for opportunities to meet with Fund for Our Economic Future staff and to discuss your proposal and connect with potential partners.
Experiencing a transportation challenge and don’t know quite what to do? Let’s talk! We can connect you with others who may be in a similar situation, explore potential partners to work with, and help shape ideas that may be considered for technical assistance or funding in a future round of The Paradox Prize. Email us at paradoxprize@thefundneo.org.
Ready to submit? Enter The Paradox Prize here. You will be asked for a 300-word summary of the transportation challenge you’re trying to address, a proposed solution, and potential partners you’ll work with in the process. Those with the most promising ideas will be selected as finalists and be asked to present a business plan before our Advisory Committee that meets the following criteria.
How to win the Paradox Prize
Winning solutions must be:
- Connected to jobs We are seeking to improve the mobility of Northeast Ohio’s workforce through The Paradox Prize. The goal is more people accessing or keeping good jobs.
- Connected to the local place The Transportation Paradox is an urban, suburban and rural challenge. Solutions should make sense in the context of the local place (e.g., density, existing assets); those that work in urban environments may be different from ones that work in rural environments.
- Simple, practical and easy to use Winning solutions will be user-friendly, i.e., easy to access and manage.
- Affordable for users and
financially sustainable beyond
the pilot Winning solutions will be financially accessible for users. Partners in the pilot will demonstrate commitment to its success and have a clear idea of potential paths to financial sustainability. - Measurable and demonstrate
impact for low-income
communities and people of color We know those most affected by The Transportation Paradox are living in communities of economic distress and are disproportionately people of color. Winning solutions will disproportionately benefit these communities. - Considerate and respectful Winning solutions will demonstrate a deep understanding of the issue and the people and businesses affected by it.
- a Additionally, we will prioritize proposals that:
- Complement existing
infrastructure and transit We’re not looking to recreate the wheel. Innovation can be about using existing assets and services in new ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness. - Are spreadable, scalable or
replicable Pilots may demonstrate potential to increase mobility options across the region, state and beyond.
Timeline
We're here to help
Throughout the challenge, we are hosting a number of opportunities around the region to meet with the Fund staff to discuss ideas, connect to partners and shape proposals to get them ready for consideration. Check back frequently for updated times and locations.
Office Hours
ROUND 3
All times are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, December 11:
Fund for Our Economic Future
4415 Euclid Ave., Suite 203, Cleveland
Wednesday, January 8:
Fund for Our Economic Future
4415 Euclid Ave., Suite 203, Cleveland
Monday, January 13:
Fund for Our Economic Future
4415 Euclid Ave., Suite 203, Cleveland
Advisory
committee
*Also a member of the Selection Committee
Bishara Addison, Towards Employment
Curtis Baker, AMATS
Nelson Beckford, The Cleveland Foundation*
Adam Briggs, The Briggs Family Funds *
Debbie Berry, University Circle Inc.
Sheri Dozier, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress *
Alicia Booker, Cuyahoga Community College *
Bethia Burke, Fund for Our Economic Future *
Ben Capelle, NEORide
Ted Carter, Cuyahoga County *
Dr. Floun’say Caver, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
Kirt Conrad, SARTA
Robert DeJournett, Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce
Dawn Distler, METRO Regional Transit Authority
Rich Granger, DriveOhio *
Jim Kinnick, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments
Chris Hitchcock, The Lozick Family Foundation *
Rahul Kumar, Keolis North America
Sue Lacy, ConxusNEO
Victor Leandry, MOVE Lorain County
Janelle Lee, Strengthening Stark
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
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...