Why Fieldworks Exists
It’s hard to be early. Through seven years of the Ivory Prize, we’ve learned that even the most promising solutions in housing innovation often struggle to gain traction. Developers, municipalities, and funders often wait for someone else to take the first risk, and early adopters are few and far between.
Backed by internal funding and supported by a team of practitioners and experts, Fieldworks exists to help innovators overcome the early adoption barrier by integrating their solutions into Ivory Innovations’ own housing developments. With over 1,500 units in development across a diverse range of projects, we offer innovators a rare opportunity to demonstrate impact in a real-world setting with the potential for broader future adoption.
It’s hard to be early. Through seven years of the Ivory Prize, we’ve learned that even the most promising solutions in housing innovation often struggle to gain traction. Developers, municipalities, and funders often wait for someone else to take the first risk, and early adopters are few and far between.
Backed by internal funding and supported by a team of practitioners and experts, Fieldworks exists to help innovators overcome the early adoption barrier by integrating their solutions into Ivory Innovations’ own housing developments. With over 1,500 units in development across a diverse range of projects, we offer innovators a rare opportunity to demonstrate impact in a real-world setting with the potential for broader future adoption.
Why Fieldworks Exists
What We Offer Innovators
Real-world application for your innovation
Exposure to Ivory Innovations’ national network of builders, funders, and media partners
A co-developed case study or insights summary to help you scale
A chance to become a go-to solution for future Ivory projects
What We Offer Innovators
Fieldworks is Ivory Innovations’ new housing innovation implementation program designed to bring breakthrough housing solutions from the drawing board to the job site. By integrating solutions directly into Ivory Innovations’ own affordable housing developments in Utah, Fieldworks helps promising ideas gain the foothold they need to scale while improving housing outcomes for residents.
FAQ
Fieldworks is for innovators with:
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A housing-related product, service, or system that is 100% ready for commercial deployment on projects ranging from six to 100 units. Eligible applicants should be past the ideation, prototyping, and pilot stages, and actively seeking customers for a market-ready solution.
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Alignment with our focus on new-construction affordable and workforce rental housing. Learn more about our current projects here.
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A desire to partner with a mission-driven nonprofit development team
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The willingness and ability to implement projects located in the Salt Lake City metro area, where all of our current housing developments are located.
Past Ivory Prize nominees, especially finalists and winners, will be especially competitive. However, prior participation in the Ivory Prize is not required.
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Application Window Open - Ivory Innovations will accept general interest applications on a rolling basis year-round, but formal application windows will be tied to specific projects. Each project-specific window will span roughly six weeks, and the application form will include high-level details about the site, housing type, and development timeline to help applicants assess fit.
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Apply Online - Tell us about your solution and its readiness for implementation
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Review and Select - We’ll evaluate submissions based on project needs and constraints
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Execution - You’ll implement your solution on a limited basis
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Reflect and Learn - We’ll work together to evaluate the impact of your solution and share what we learned - both with you and the broader industry.
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Market Readiness: Your product, service, or system must be fully developed and ready for commercial deployment. We prioritize solutions that have progressed beyond the ideation, prototyping, and pilot stages and are actively seeking implementation partners.
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Relevance to our Developments: Solutions must be suitable for integration into new-construction affordable and workforce rental housing projects, typically ranging from six to 100 units. All current projects are located in the Salt Lake City metro area. To help applicants assess fit, each project-specific application form includes high-level details about the development site, housing type, and timeline.
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Implementation Feasibility: You must be willing and able to implement your solution on the ground in Utah within the specified project timeline. Applicants should also be prepared to respond promptly to questions or requests for additional information during the evaluation phase following the end of the application window.
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Mission Alignment: We prioritize innovators who share our mission to improve housing affordability through innovation. A collaborative, impact-driven approach is essential.
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All applications will be treated as confidential during the evaluation process and will only be shared with members of our selection and implementation teams. By submitting, you retain full ownership of your intellectual property. If selected, we may request additional documentation or contractual agreements to formalize responsibilities, permissions, and protections for both parties. Final terms will be project-specific and mutually agreed upon before implementation begins.
For additional information about the Fieldworks application process generally, please contact fieldworks@ivoryinnovations.org.
For project-specific questions, see the Apply page.