Global health and academic leaders are asking for banks and payments firms to join the Trinity Challenge, a new competition to find better ways to identify and respond to public health threats.
With a £10m prize fund, the Trinity Challenge aims to find new ways to inhibit future pandemics through innovative use of data and a diversity of ideas to be gathered from participants across different industries and regions worldwide.
From the tech sector Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Tencent have already joined health leaders such as GSK and Optum in the initiative. Leading the way for the finance sector have been insurers, Aviva and Legal & General which have announced participation.
Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer in the UK and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, who convened the challenge explains: “Diversity and collaboration are key to finding new answers to better manage future pandemics. That’s why we are seeking help from banks and payments firms which may have access to data that could spark new ideas and insight into consumer behaviour before and during moments of health crisis.”
Using data and advanced analytics the Challenge will focus on three core areas:
• Identification: Building early-warning systems to identify outbreaks before they cause great harm.
• Response: Developing insights and capabilities to target interventions with maximal effectiveness and at minimal cost.
• Recovery: Strengthening the social and economic revival following health emergencies and constructing an equitable path toward an inclusive recovery.
Participants will be organised into Challenge Teams, forging cross-industry collaborations which reflect a diverse set of backgrounds and specialisms. Data and analytic resources will be made available to drive collaboration. Challenge Teams will be able to partner with global experts, drawing on their resources and support.
Discussing Aviva’s role in the Trinity Challenge, Orlando Machado, Aviva’s Chief Data Scientist, says: “The Trinity Challenge is required because we’re facing a global crisis. Not just in the short-term, but with real long-term impacts on health and economic wellbeing.
“We’re supporting the challenge because for over 300 years we’ve been there to help people manage risk around the things they value most: their health, their family, their livelihoods.
“I’m really excited to be supporting this challenge. We can help people across the world and I’m proud Aviva can play a part.”
Banks which may want to join Aviva and Legal & General in the initiative can learn more about the Trinity Challenge here.