Catalyst @ Health 2.0: A Year in Review
The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Showcase Recap
AS WE WAVE GOODBYE TO 2020, THE TEAM AT CATALYST @ HEALTH 2.0 IS SHARING SOME OF THIS YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS IN A SERIES OF BLOG POSTS.
In partnership with Facebook Data for Good, the Delphi Group at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the Joint Program on Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies
Launching in September 2020 and concluding at the end of the year, the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge looked for novel analytic approaches that use COVID-19 Symptom Survey data to enable earlier detection and improved situational awareness of the outbreak.
Challenge participants leveraged aggregated data from the COVID-19 Symptom Surveys conducted by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland, in partnership with Facebook, the largest and most detailed surveys ever conducted during a public health emergency, with over 25M responses recorded to date, across 200+ countries and territories and 55+ languages.
Phase I saw applications that encompassed more than 115 people (across every continent except Antarctica!) and 50 organizations including 35 academic institutions. Judges evaluated the entries based on Validity, Scientific Rigor, Impact, and User Experience before awarding five semi-finalists - CoronaSurveys, DeepOutbreak, K&A, Pathcheck, and the University of Washington Electrical and Computer Engineering/Computer Science and Engineering - $5,000 each and the opportunity to advance to Phase II, where these teams developed a prototype (simulation or visualization) using their analytic approach.
Following further evaluation and edits in Phase II, DeepOutbreak was declared the winner and K&A as the runner up of The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge. As the winner of the Challenge, DeepOutbreak is awarded $50,000 and will have their analytic design featured on the Facebook Data for Good website and partner forums, including blogs and community websites. K&A receives $25,000 as the runner up.
(We highlight these teams more in a separate blog post located HERE.)
The winners and remaining three finalists (CoronaSurveys, Pathcheck, and the University of Washington ECE/CS & Engineering) presented their prototypes at the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Showcase on Wednesday, December 16th, from 4-5:30pm ET, during a program that included distinguished speakers such as Dr. Tom Frieden, President & CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, & former director of the CDC, Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, CEO of Aledade & former National Coordinator for Health IT at the Department of Health and Human Services, and Kang-Xing Jin, Facebook's Head of Health. Chrissy Farr, Principal and Health-Tech Lead at OMERS Ventures and former technology and health reporter for CNBC.com, served as emcee.
Watch the Showcase in full here: