A Better Chicago: Project Impact
Project Impact is a competition that provided $100,000, management support and networking opportunities to an early stage nonprofit that is using an innovative model to improve the lives of low-income Chicagoans.
Event Format
The 4 finalists gave a 6 minute presentation in front of an audience of 250, and a judges panel. Each pitch was followed by a brief Q&A session from the judges and then the audience. After all finalists had presented, the judges and audience then voted for the $100,000 winner.
How Conferences I/O Was Used
During each presentation the audience was submitting, and voting for questions that they wanted the team to address. After the Q&A from the judges panel, a few of the most popular audience questions, as determined by Conferences I/O, were asked as well.
Once all of the finalists had presented, the audience was polled via Conferences I/O to determine which team they thought should win. Each of the 4 judges had a vote, and the audience poll results from Conferences I/O counted for the 5th and final vote.
Interview With Alli Henry
Why did you decide to use Conferences I/O for the Project Impact event?
We wanted the audience to help select the winner of our social innovation competition. With 250 people in the room, this could have been cumbersome. We also wanted to engage the audience throughout the finalists' presentations and allow them to ask questions.
Did Conferences I/O solve the problems you were hoping it would?
Conferences I/O was exactly what we needed. The audience could use their phones to submit questions, 'Like' or comment on existing questions, and ultimately vote for the winner of the competition through polling. It was so easy to moderate!
Did the audience enjoy using Conferences I/O during the event?
The audience was very impressed! They loved that they could participate in real time and they were excited about voting for the winner. The technology made us look really good.
After using Conferences I/O, would you ever consider going back to raising hands for Q&A or polling for a similar event?
Are you kidding?! No, not for a large group event like this. We couldn't have done it without Conferences I/O.