Global innovators invited to tackle climate resilience challenges
13 October 2026
Applications open for the 2027 QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge, connecting innovators with Red Cross partners to tackle pressing resilience challenges in Australia, the Pacific and Latin America.
The humanitarian impact of a changing climate is placing growing pressure on communities to prepare for, adapt to and recover from increasingly complex risks.
This issue is at the heart of the 2027 QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge, for which applications open today (1 October 2026). Delivered through a partnership between Leading Cities, Australian Red Cross, the Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC) and QBE Foundation, the Challenge connects innovators with humanitarian partners and real-world testing environments to explore what works, for whom and under what conditions.
Now entering its third year, the global initiative will select two innovators to receive up to AUD $100,000 each to pilot technology-enabled solutions that strengthen community resilience in the face of increasing climate and disaster risks.
Beyond supporting individual innovators, the Challenge aims to generate evidence about how resilience develops within communities. Insights from the pilots will help Red Cross Red Crescent partners better understand what enables preparedness behaviours to endure, how information can be translated into action and what approaches may be adapted and scaled across different countries and contexts.
In 2027, innovators will be invited to address two resilience problems.
Problem 1 – Turning preparedness into lasting resilience
Communities across Australia and New Caledonia are increasingly exposed to hazards including cyclones, floods and bushfires. While many people understand these risks, staying prepared can be difficult when disasters are unpredictable, competing priorities demand attention and long periods can pass between major events.
As a result, important preparedness actions can fade over time. Emergency plans may not be updated, supplies may not be replenished and conversations about risk may stop. When disaster does strike, communities can find themselves less prepared than they expected, increasing the impacts on people's safety, wellbeing, livelihoods and recovery.
For these communities, the challenge is not simply helping people understand risk. It is helping preparedness become part of everyday life, so that communities are better equipped to anticipate, withstand and recover from future shocks.
The selected innovator responding to Problem Statement 1 will pilot their solution with Australian Red Cross and the French Red Cross New Caledonia Delegation, generating learning across two distinct community contexts.
Problem 2 – Access to trusted and localised information
Communities are facing increasingly complex climate and disaster risks. As weather patterns change and extreme events become more frequent, people are looking for information that helps them understand what is happening around them and what it means for their homes, livelihoods and future.
Yet information is not always local, trusted or easy to act on. People can struggle to make sense of changing risks, know which sources to rely on or determine what actions are most relevant for their community.
For these communities, the issue is not simply accessing more information. It is accessing trusted and localised insights that support informed decisions and strengthen resilience over time.
The selected innovator responding to Problem Statement 2 will pilot their solution with the Colombian Red Cross and the Global Disaster Preparedness Center.
Blain Berhanu, Head of Innovation at Australian Red Cross, said: "Around the world, communities are looking for practical ways to prepare for an increasingly uncertain future. There is still much to learn about what works, for whom and under what conditions. The QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge helps to enable promising innovations to learn from and alongside communities in real-world settings. In doing so, it generates insights that can help more communities access solutions that work in their context, leaving them better equipped not only to withstand future shocks, but to shape stronger futures for themselves. Through the reach of the Red Cross Red Crescent network, those lessons have the potential to benefit communities far beyond the pilot locations, helping more people access proven approaches before the next crisis strikes.”
Michael Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities, said: "Strong solutions often fail not because they don't work, but because the systems around them aren't ready to adopt them. Through this partnership, innovators aren't just piloting with one community — they're connecting to a network of 16,000 communities and 190 National Societies worldwide. That's the kind of system that turns a good pilot into lasting change."
Lauren Hicks, Head of Social Impact at QBE Insurance, said: "We know the cost and complexity of disasters are growing, but we also know that investing in resilience can make communities stronger before disaster strikes. Building that resilience requires collaboration, innovation and long-term commitment. Through the QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge, we're helping innovators test practical solutions that can strengthen preparedness, support adaptation and help communities respond to changing climate and disaster risks."
The Challenge builds on a growing track record. Since 2018, Leading Cities and QBE have selected startups from 77 countries through AcceliCITY, with alumni collectively raising more than US$3.3 billion in funding.
Applications close 31 October 2026. Participation is free and open to startups, social enterprises, nonprofits and mission-driven teams worldwide.
For more information, visit www.humanitech.org.au/humanitarianchallenge.
Notes to media
Australian Red Cross
Australian Red Cross is a volunteer-based organisation that exists to reduce human suffering. With 111 years’ experience and a community of 15,000+ members and volunteers, we act locally and connect globally to deliver what’s needed, when it’s needed most. We belong to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the Movement) and, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and 190 other National Societies in countries around the world, we are part of the world’s largest humanitarian network; 16 million volunteers that help those impacted by disaster, conflict, health and other social issues.
Learn more: Australian Red Cross
QBE Foundation
The QBE Foundation is committed to creating strong, resilient, and inclusive communities across its global operations. We work in partnership with community organisations, with a focus on both climate resilience and inclusion – two areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact. More information on the QBE Foundation can be found here.
Leading Cities
Leading Cities is a non-profit organization with global reach that bridges the gap between innovation and implementation — helping municipalities and innovators overcome the procurement, regulatory, and scaling barriers that stall the adoption of proven solutions. Through AcceliCITY, AcceliGOV, Leading Cities Academy, and a network spanning more than 16,000 communities globally, Leading Cities sources and vets solutions, connects governments, innovators, industry, and capital to turn community resilience from ambition into action at scale. For more information, visit www.LeadingCities.org or connect on LinkedIn.
Global Disaster Preparedness Center
The Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC) is a joint venture between the IFRC and the American Red Cross, established to support innovation and learning in disaster preparedness. As one of 12 reference centers within the Red Cross Red Crescent network, the GDPC aims to enhance preparedness of National Societies through a service-oriented and demand-driven approach to building community resilience. The GDPC focuses on three main areas of service: knowledge management, research, and technical assistance. For more information, visit www.preparecenter.org or connect on LinkedIn.
QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge
The QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge is a unique cross-sector collaboration between Leading Cities, QBE Foundation, Australian Red Cross and the Global Disaster Preparedness Center, focused on scaling community-led solutions for climate resilience.
This Challenge brings together four organisations with distinct strengths:
- Leading Cities is a global civic innovation organisation that designed and operates the AcceliCITY infrastructure underpinning the QBE AcceliCITY Humanitarian Challenge. It brings two decades of civic innovation practice, a pool of 400+ cross-sector trainers, evaluators and mentors and a network of 16,000+ communities, providing the operational backbone, global reach and scale for the partnership.
- QBE Foundation brings deep experience in resilience, risk and supporting stronger communities, along with the convening power and corporate networks to connect innovation with community needs.
- Australian Red Cross and the Global Disaster Preparedness Center provide humanitarian expertise, community partnerships and real-world testing environments, helping ensure innovation is grounded in lived experience and community priorities. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Australian Red Cross and GDPC connect innovators to one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks, creating opportunities to inform adoption and scale.
Together, the partnership creates a credible pathway from innovation to community adoption.