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NMWSO Safety by Design Challenge

 

Congratulations on completing the National Models for Women’s Online Safety (NMWSO) Initiative Safety by Design training and workshops! 

As the next step towards safer digital products and services in the Philippines, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Safety by Design Challenge. This is an exciting opportunity to apply your learning and develop innovative solutions that embed safety into new or existing digital products and services. 

The challenge encourages tech sector partners to create new or improve their existing market offerings with Safety by Design (SbD) features and test them with your customers. You are also invited to enter your new products to be highlighted in the NMWSO Tech SbD Showcase. Top designs – those that bring effective solutions and protect users – will receive prizes and recognition.

 

How to participate?

🧠 September – November 2025: As you work on your idea, join NMWSO mentorship and support sessions, get peer and expert advice, iterate, and test your product or service with your customers/users. The journey and the thinking behind your SbD solution are as important as the final product!

📬 December 15, 2025: Enter your product for the Tech Safety Showcase

👌 January 9, 2026: Receive confirmation of participation 

🚨 January 29, 2026: SAVE THE DATE for showcase, recognition, and awards to winning designs, celebration

Submitting your digital products to the NMWSO SbD Showcase:

 

Email final submission to: nmwso-ph@developmentgateway.org

Subject: SbD Showcase NAME OF YOUR DIGITAL PRODUCT / ORGANIZATION/ COMPANY

What to include: 

  • Accessible link to your digital product, service, tool, or app
  • Two-page product sheet that includes information on 
    • Name of the individual or team members who is/are submitting the product
    • Organization/company/platform represented, and the number of current registered or active members or users
    • Product description and purpose
    • Target customers (number of reach, profile, demographics)
    • SbD features 
    • Lessons learned from the process of integrating SbD in design
  • Risk assessment and mitigation matrix used in SbD design- (click here for a sample template)

How will the products be evaluated?

A panel of survivors of online violence, representatives from the Gates Foundation and NMWSO program, tech sector industry leaders, and regulators, including experts from the eSafety Commissioner of Australia, will evaluate the submissions based on the criteria listed below to identify winning solutions. We encourage you to keep these in mind as you develop your solutions.

Core Criteria Points
Application of Safety by Design Principles 

  • Proactivity and Prevention: Does the SbD feature primarily focus on anticipating, detecting, and preventing harm from occurring, rather than just reacting to it?
  • User Empowerment and Autonomy: Does the digital product/ feature provide users with meaningful control, clear choices, and tools to manage their safety and experience?
  • Transparency and Accountability: Is it clear how the solution works? Does the solution support the company’s accountability for safety outcomes?
  • Inclusivity: Does the digital product/ platform consider the needs and vulnerabilities of diverse user groups, including customers from potentially marginalized communities?
  • Integration with Privacy and Security: Are fundamental privacy and security considerations thoughtfully integrated into the solution’s design?
 30 (5 per principle plus 5 if all 5 are hit)
Real Risk Prevention and Mitigation

  • Contextual Understanding: Does the solution demonstrate an understanding of the target users (especially within the Filipino context) and the specific nuances of the harm it aims to mitigate?
  • Accounting for Diverse Users: Does the assessment of risks account for users that represent groups in different contexts, with different digital infrastructure, digital skills, genders, age groups, and other considerations? 
  • Risk Mitigation: Does the product include SbD features that address these harms for different kinds of users?
  • Consideration of Potential Misuse: Has the team considered how the solution itself might be misused or have unintended negative consequences, and are there mitigations planned? 
 25 (5 per category)
Design and Innovation 

    • User Experience (UX) and Usability: Is the solution designed to be intuitive, user-friendly, and accessible for its target users?
  • Clarity and Feasibility of Design: Is the proposed solution well-defined? Does the design seem technically feasible to implement (even if presented as a prototype)?
  • Creativity and Originality: How innovative or novel is the approach or feature in addressing the safety problem?
 15 (5 per category)
Design Process and Journey 

  • Articulated Design Thinking: How clearly does the submission explain the process taken – from understanding the problem, to ideation, to the solution?
  • Evidence of SbD Application: Can the judges see how SbD principles, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies (as learned in the training/workshops) were applied throughout the development process?
  • Iteration and Learning: Is there any evidence of iteration, learning from challenges, or incorporation of feedback?
 15 (5 per category)
Potential Impact and Scalability 

    • Effectiveness: How likely is the solution to effectively mitigate the identified online harm(s)?
    • Scalability: Could this SbD solution be implemented in other products and potentially scaled within the target platform or a similar context?
  • Sustainability: How likely are these SbD features to be sustained and scaled in the company’s offerings? 
 15 (5 per category)
Total points 100
Bonus Points for Focus on Protecting Women and/or Girls 

  • Recognizing gendered harms and risks: Risk assessment and mitigation plan specifically calls out gendered harms and outlines mitigation strategies to address them
  • Soliciting inputs from those vulnerable to abuse: Design process includes opportunities for inputs and feedback from women, and there is evidence that the feedback is built into the SbD features of the product
  • Product is designed to be useful and safe for women and/or girls: Digital product/service itself, in its purpose, specifically benefits women advancing their wellbeing and livelihood
  • Women and/or girls are empowered: Product includes easy-to-use features for feedback, reporting, and reacting to risks and harms that women and/or girls may experience
 20 (5 per category)
Total possible points 120

 

The challenge is to produce digital products and services that are not only innovative but also practical, impactful, and rooted in SbD principles. 

For queries or clarification, please reach out to our team at nmwso-ph@developmentgateway.org.

We look forward to your thoughtful and impactful solutions!