Introducing The Longitude Prize on Dementia; the second instalment of the modern Longitude Prize

Alzheimer’s Society, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have together announced the £4.1m Longitude Prize on Dementia to change the lives of people living with dementia – launching this September. The prize will be delivered by Challenge Works. 

The Longitude Prize on Dementia, is the second modern Longitude Prize delivered by Challenge Works, after the Longitude Prize on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which launched in 2014, calling on innovators to develop novel diagnostic tests to tackle the rise of antimicrobial resistance. 

The Longitude Prize on Dementia will drive the creation of personalised, technology-based tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia, helping them live independently for longer. Innovators will be challenged to develop technologies that learn about the lives of people with early-stage dementia, employing novel and emerging technologies to bridge cognitive gaps that develop as their condition progresses. 

The £4.1m Longitude Prize on Dementia will award £3.1 million in seed funding and grants to the most promising innovators, with a £1 million prize awarded to the winner in early 2026. In addition, wider support has been funded to provide innovators with crucial insight and expertise, facilitating whatever they need to bring their ideas to life – like access to data, collaborations with people living with dementia and dementia organisations in the UK and around the world, advice on product design, user experience and business mentoring. 

This Challenge Prize has convened key players such as:

• Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading dementia charity. It is a vital source of support and a powerful force for change for everyone affected by dementia
• Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency that helps UK businesses to grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate
• the Medical Research Council which funds research at the forefront of science to prevent illness, develop therapies and improve human health.

The entry window for the Longitude Prize on Dementia will open for innovators from around the world when the prize launches in September 2022 and full details about the prize criteria will be published.