Rise Up@LBJ Assistive Tech Pilot Makerspace in Cambridge

1. What is the problem that you are committed to solving?

We are committed to solving the problem of low participation in the workforce of people with disabilities

2. What is the solution you are proposing?

A pilot specialized assistive technology makerspace in a residential building hosting the disabled and the elderly in priority to expose residents to digital technologies (3D drawing, scanning, printing, laser cutting, computer assisted sewing, ) to help make them competitive in the skillsof the future

3. How could your solution positively change the lives of people?

This solution will positively change the lives of people with disabilities because it creates a forum where this community can take the lead in creating the assistive technologies that will allow them to function better in society and contribute, become an asset rather than a burden in their communities.

According to the WHO World Report on Disability, More than 1 billion persons in the world have some form of disability. This corresponds to about 15% of the world's population. Between 110-190 million people have very significant difficulties in functioning. People with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people. In 2019, 19.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for persons without a disability was 66.3 percent. (See: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf). In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where we propose to pilot our solution more than a quarter of the population reports having a disability.

- How many people are affected?

In 2019, 19.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for persons without a disability was 66.3 percent. (See: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf)

- What are the contributing factors to the problem that relate to your solution? Social discriminative perceptions; comparative lack of skills; age.

Please find in the linked letters of support from the most important stakeholders that show how we are working with the local disability community and explains how our solution will address the disabled community needs. 

Our effort is strategically organized towards providing critical digital technologies training applied to solving problems where having a disability confers a competitive advantage that may shift the dynamics of employment and entrepreneurship in this marginalized community. 

- What product or services are you providing to the population you are serving/working with? What processes and technology are you using?

We have selected the setting of a makerspace, with a focus on assistive technology. We have selected a public housing development here in Cambridge Massachusetts as our Rise Up@ LBJ pilot case. The hypothesis is that if we make it work first here where supportive intellectual and technological resources most abound, we will accelerate iteration to the right model that can be used as template to make it work anywhere. We already have an extensible space that has been allocated for this project and accessibility specialized architects involved to help guide the layout of this space

See our video: 

I expect the solution I am proposing will address the problem of low employment among the disabled because the solution is conceived and supported first and foremost by people with disabilities. 

I have had a disability all my life.  

1. the current number of people you’re serving

We're currently serving the 177 residents of the LBJ building in Cambridge

2. the number you’ll be serving in one year

Withing a year, our goal is to serve the the whole city of Cambridge

3. the number you’ll be serving in five years

Within five years, we hope to serve the over 1billion people with disabilities worldwide.

Our goal for next year is to see RiseUp@ LBJ fully staffed, equipped and operational. Within five years, we hope to see this concept franchised throughout the world's five continents. 

Thanks to the wide and large amount of stakeholders we have attracted to this project, as earlier outlined, we are on our way to solving all the financial, technical, legal, cultural, or market barriers for the next year and the next five years as we aim for larger impact

We currently hold events related to disability, provide training on makerspace digital technologies

A total of four people currenty work on our solution team, and we are looking to expand. In addition we rely on an expanding network of supporters and partners.

See my profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kongtcheu/

I have had a disability my whole life and live among people with disabilities.

See our partners letters of supports here, describing ho we are working with them: https://drive.google.com/file/...

My name is Phil Kongtcheu (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kongtcheu/). I am the Founder & CEO of eMotionRx, a medical device startup that is building a number of devices and technologies that reimagine what physical rehabilitation could be. I also teach as adjunct faculty to the Harvard Catalyst Department of the Harvard Medical School. For the past two years, I have been a member of the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and as of February 13, 2020, I was unanimously elected by its 11-member board to be its Board Chair. Additionally, I am also a council member of MASSMATCH, the state entity charged with promoting the use of Assistive Technology in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (https://www.massmatch.org/).
I am the initiator of the Rise Up Makerspace Project, a project that has been in gestation for the past two years. Over these two years, the vision has been refined, and I have sought and enlisted an unparalleled range of stakeholders, partners and supporters for this project. I am submitting this proposal for funding for pilot testing at the LBJ apartments building in Cambridge (https://emotionrx.com/rise-up/). 

During our pilot phase, we will be experimenting with a variety of business models. Up to now, I have personally paid for the cost of all the expenses incurred to further this initiative.

We expect to reach financial sustainability through a combination of stakeholder grants, membership fees, product sales and fundraising events.

The primary reason I am applying to the Digital Workforce Challenge is to create wide awareness of what we are creating here, so as to create global awareness quicker.

We are ok with what we have now.