Take the Grand Challenge: What's Your Bold Idea?

Did you know that the youngest person issued a patent in the United States is a 4 year old girl from Houston, Texas? She designed a new type of "easy grip knob." The youngest person with a patent in India is a 9 year old boy who invented a six person chess board. Bold ideas come in many different forms and from all ages - it's what we're looking to find with Grand Challenge Explorations (GCE). What is GCE? It's the Gates Foundation's way of issuing a challenge of immense proportion to the world at large through a series of grants to anyone who offers up a grand idea. If we are to solve the most pressing problems our world faces, we need to foster unconventional thinking about how to do it. We can't rely on the way we've always done things. Through GCE, we're looking for the big, revolutionary ideas that will change the world for the better - for all of us.

How does it work? Today we pose our 10^th round of Grand Challenge Explorations questions which range from global health related topics - like finding ways to fight malaria; to novel methods to improve farming techniques – like better tools to help farmers grow more food; and new ways to communicate about the ways in which aid provided to the poorest countries in the world is working. You can find the link to the questions we're seeking answers to here. If you think you have the next enterprising idea, check out the online application.

We're looking for ideas from anyone, anywhere. Submit yours today!