Celebrating innovation: CIBC and MaRS announce the winners of the Inclusive Design Challenge on the Future of Work

TORONTO, May 16, 2024 — CIBC and MaRS Discovery District are pleased to announce the winners of the fourth and final Inclusive Design Challenge, focusing on the Future of Work. In 2020, MaRS and CIBC launched the Inclusive Design Challenge Series, a set of four distinct Grand Challenges designed to seek solutions to address employment barriers faced by persons with disabilities. The final edition, launched in December 2023, addresses a critical concern: AI bias in recruitment practices and its disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities. 

“As advancements in technology continue to reshape how we work, it’s incumbent on all of us to ensure inclusion from the outset, actively involving persons with disabilities in the ideation, creation and testing of these innovations,” says Krista Jones, chief delivery officer at MaRS Discovery District. “Collaborating with CIBC on this challenge underscores our joint dedication to crafting a future that is accessible and equitable for all, and this partnership is a clear indicator of our commitment to that.”

The challenge called for inventive solutions, both technological and non-technological, across two streams: Stream A targeted idea generation and Stream B looked at advanced, practical solutions. These efforts align with key themes identified for the future of work: adaptability, the necessity for continuous learning and the profound shifts in work environments influenced by technology. 

“Congratulations to the winners of our fourth Inclusive Design Challenge! Your innovative commitment to inclusion is making a positive, tangible impact on accessibility across our communities,” said Andrew Greenlaw, vice president of sponsorship, community and brand at CIBC. “Thank you to everyone who participated, and for helping to make the ambitions of persons with disabilities real.”

The judging panel was impressed by the diversity and depth of the solutions, which promise to mitigate bias and foster an inclusive workplace. The awarded ideas promise to reshape the landscape of recruitment, ensuring fair and unbiased opportunities for all. 

Winners

Stream A (idea generation solutions)

$20,000 Prize Winner: Equity First HR

Equity First HR is an anti-racist, anti-oppressive consultancy focused on changing the way we work. Its submission is focused on advancing EDIBA+ through AI processes to detect bias and mitigate harm caused by exclusion. EquiAI is an innovative tool designed to ensure fairness and inclusivity in recruitment processes by actively detecting and mitigating biases. It seeks to leverage AI to even the recruitment process for folks with disabilities.

$5,000 Prize Winner: Placemaking 4G

P4G helps create workplaces people want to be in through human centric recruitment and educational offering to employers. P4G is building an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) called Placemaker, designed to support human-centric recruiting practices and, ultimately, improve equitable access to prosperity. Placemaker will leverage technology to streamline the recruitment process while reducing bias and other barriers when it comes to hiring candidates. Placemaker will allow candidates to submit applications through methods most comfortable to them, addressing neurotypical bias and eliminating standardized processes that serve as barriers. Preferred candidate communication style will be prioritized, encouraging applicants to share and connect with the process in a manner that resonates with their authentic selves.

Stream B (advanced solutions)

$45,000 Prize Winner: Code 4 Canada

Code for Canada is a mission-driven, civic tech, national nonprofit that aims to improve life for residents using technology and design. Its aim is to promote, enable and advance the development of accessible and responsible public-interest technology, civic technology and digital government across Canada. Gathering Residents to Improve Technology (GRIT) is a service that connects technology creators with diverse and under-represented communities across Canada, including people with disabilities. Through GRIT, service delivery teams are able to build better digital products and services for the people who will ultimately be using them. In turn, users are able to provide direct and honest feedback on the design and development of digital solutions intended to serve them. By including people with disabilities in design and development, GRIT mitigates the risk of AI bias in technology solutions before they launch and helps ensure their accessibility.

$30,000 Prize Winner: Magnify Access 

Magnify Access offers accessibility solutions, empowering organizations to foster inclusive workplaces while ensuring compliance with accessibility standards. MagnifyAI provides employers with a platform to integrate accommodation needs into their recruitment processes. This helps ensure that job opportunities are better aligned with the unique requirements of applicants with disabilities, enhancing workplace inclusivity and compliance. MagnifyAI is designed to dismantle ableist biases in AI-driven job-matching algorithms by integrating accommodation needs into its job-matching criteria. This ensures that job seekers with disabilities find roles that match both their skills and their accommodation requirements, fostering equitable employment opportunities and workplace inclusivity.

About MaRS Discovery District

MaRS helps Canadian startups succeed so they can solve our toughest problems in such areas as climate, health and the economy. As North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity, MaRS provides direct support for more than 1,200 ventures, builds communities of innovators within its 1.5 million square feet of lab and office space, and spurs the adoption of new solutions — in Canada and around the world.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 14 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. The CIBC Foundation serves our commitment to creating a world without limits to ambition by championing inclusive communities, investing in financial education and supporting cancer research, treatment, education and support programs through corporate donations and community partnerships. Learn more about our community impact. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/en/about-cibc/media-centre.html.

About MaRS Grand Challenges

MaRS is a national leader of Grand Challenges, an awards-based competition, aimed at mobilizing and engaging diverse organizations and innovators to address some of society’s toughest problems.