Combating Human Trafficking Data & Technology Impact Award
ClosedU.S. Department of Transportation (Counter-Trafficking Initiative)
Annual prize; 2026 cycle closed Jun 22; reopens ~spring 2027
Description
A competition recognizing the most impactful counter-trafficking initiative or technology. Entries are judged on technical merit, originality, impact, practicality, measurability, and applicability. First place up to $100,000, second up to $50,000, third up to $25,000.
Timeline & constraints
Key dates
- Annual award cycle — check current datesTBD
Constraints & requirements
- A prize competition, not a project grant — rewards an existing/demonstrable tool
- Requires a measurable, applicable technology solution
- Judged on technical merit, impact, and practicality
Who's funding this
The coalition behind the opportunity. Tick the backers that are the best fit for ETC to prioritize.
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Who runs it
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AI valuation
Scored against the ETC mission profile.
Strong thematic fit with ETC's forced-labor and supply-chain traceability work, and the light, prize-style entry format keeps effort low. The catch is that this rewards an existing, measurably impactful counter-trafficking technology rather than funding new research — so ETC should only pursue if it can frame a mature traceability or forced-labor tool with demonstrable impact and a transportation-sector angle. Verify the competition is open, then enter opportunistically if a qualifying project exists.
Criteria breakdown
Counter-trafficking sits squarely within ETC's forced-labor and labor-rights focus, and its supply-chain traceability project is directly relevant to detecting and disrupting trafficking networks.
This is a recognition prize (up to $100k) for an existing impactful initiative, not a grant that funds new applied research or staff time; useful as unrestricted reward but does not underwrite a fresh build.
NYU CGA + Microsoft Research backing lends credibility, but the competition rewards demonstrated, measurable real-world impact — ETC's traceability/forced-labor work is adjacent but may not yet be a deployed, transportation-sector counter-trafficking tool with hard impact metrics.
A prize-style entry judged on merit and impact is lighter than a full proposal, though assembling convincing measurability/practicality evidence takes real effort.
A U.S. DOT federal recognition would build reputation, open government/agency relationships, and extend ETC's forced-labor and traceability portfolio into the transportation-sector trafficking space.
Red flags
- Prize competition rewards an existing, demonstrably impactful initiative — ETC must have a deployed or advanced counter-trafficking tool to enter, not just a concept.
- Award is recognition money, not a research/prototyping grant; may not cover the staff time ETC prefers to fund.
- Judging criteria emphasize measurability and real-world impact, where a lab-stage prototype could underperform against fielded solutions.
- No stated deadline — verify the competition is currently open before investing effort.
Scored Jul 1, 2026 · claude-opus-4-8
Proposal recommendation
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Recommendations & tips
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Funded projects to learn from
Real projects this funder backed — reference points to model and adapt an ETC proposal on.
Mobile apps to identify sex-trafficking victims; satellite imagery tracking fishing vessels carrying forced-labor victims; web-scraping tools aggregating abuse imagery to help law enforcement.
For ETC: The tool archetypes this field rewards — model an ETC entry on a concrete, measurable detection/accountability tool.
Similar challenges
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