Longitude Prize 2014 goes to antibiotics research
Howard Lake | 6 July 2014 | News
The Longitude Prize 2014 has been awarded to projects that prevent the rise of resistance to antibiotics.
The £10 million Prize marks the 300th anniversary year of the Longitude Act, when the British government offered a cash prize to whoever could solve one of the most important challenges of the time – how to pinpoint a ship’s location at sea by knowing its longitude.
For the 2014 Longitude Prize, the public were invited to vote for the most pressing problem from six issues:
Advertisement
- Flight – How can we fly without damaging the environment?
- Food – How can we ensure everyone has nutritious, sustainable food?
- Antibiotics – How can we prevent the rise of resistance to antibiotics?
- Paralysis – How can we restore movement to those with paralysis?
- Water – How can we ensure everyone can have access to safe and clean water?
- Dementia – How can we help people with dementia to live independently for longer?
The winner: antibiotics resistance
At the end of last month the public voted for research into preventing the rise of resistance to antibiotics. The Longitude Committee will now develop criteria and a specific goal that will set out what people and organisations will need to do to win the prize. You can register your idea and project now though.
The Committee is setting a five year deadline in which to reach the goal.
The Longitude Prize 2014 is being run by Nesta, with the Technology Strategy Board as launch funding partner.
- Is it time for an X-Prize for fundraising? (16 February 2017)
- Who is thinking about the future of fundraising? (2 December 2019)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.