New York, May 4, 2021 — The winners of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today, honoring the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice, or economic inequality.
Mark43 is proud to announce it has been awarded as a Finalist in the Software category of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas awards for the Mark43 Pandemic Preparedness Package. Amid the pandemic, Mark43 recognized that local police and first responders found themselves struggling to understand the scope of the pandemic in their own communities and track the virus’s impact amongst their own ranks. In record time, the company created the Pandemic Preparedness software package that includes Potential Exposure Reports, an Exposure Status Update Report, and a COVID-19 Potential Exposure Dashboard. The package enables agencies to seamlessly capture data on how COVID-19 is affecting the agency itself and the community which it serves. While Mark43’s software typically costs up to millions of dollars, the company elected to donate one year of the subscription to its Pandemic Preparedness Package to any law enforcement agency in the U.S.
Now in its fifth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 33 winners, more than 400 finalists, and more than 800 honorable mentions—with Health and Wellness, AI & Data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 4,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, and more. Plus, several new categories were added, including Pandemic Response, Urban Design, and Architecture. The 2021 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Brazil to Denmark to Vietnam.
Showcasing some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling exigent global challenges, Fast Company’s Summer 2021 issue (on newsstands May 10) highlights, among others, a lifesaving bassinet; the world’s largest carbon sink, thanks to carbon-eating concrete; 3D-printed schools; an at-home COVID-19 testing kit; a mobile voting app; and the world’s cleanest milk.
“It’s an honor to have been included as a Finalist of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas awards,” said Matthew Polega, Co-Founder and Head of Communications and Public Policy at Mark43. “First responders don’t have the luxury of working remotely and are constantly at risk of exposure to COVID-19 while out in the field. The Mark43 Pandemic Preparedness Package enables agencies to focus on keeping their communities, and their members, healthy and safe instead of wrestling with tracking exposures and quarantines. From agencies in New York to California, first responders at agencies nationwide have already benefited from the modern, lightweight, easy-to-use offering.”
“There is no question our society and planet are facing deeply troubling times. So, it’s important to recognize organizations that are using their ingenuity, impact, design, scalability, and passion to solve these problems,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists, under the leadership of senior editor Morgan Clendaniel, have discovered some of the most groundbreaking projects that have launched since the start of 2020.”