July2026
Call Opens
Nominations open to individuals, institutions, and peer networks.
Annual Awards
Call for Nominations: 2026 Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Impact Leader of the Year
At every turning point of human civilization, the force that truly changes the world does not come from technology alone, but from those who are willing to rethink society, reorganize resources, and respond to the defining challenges of our time.
They may be practitioners deeply rooted in rural communities, scholars committed to educational equity, pioneers of new public service models, or innovators who, through business transformation, technological application, social research, organizational change, or legal practice, have created measurable, sustainable, and replicable change in the real world.
To discover, recognize, and amplify these future-oriented thinkers, practitioners, and leaders, the Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Research Institute officially launches the Call for Nominations for the 2026 Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Impact Leader of the Year. The nomination is open to researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, educators, business executives, public governance innovators, and social changemakers across the Asia-Pacific region who have made outstanding contributions, generated broad impact, and demonstrated significance in the field of social innovation.
Initiated by the Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Research Institute, the Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Impact Leader of the Year aims to honor individuals who advance progress through knowledge, improve society through innovation, and respond to shared human challenges through action. We believe that truly meaningful impact is not only about solving a problem, but also about opening new possibilities for society.
Focus Areas
The 2026 nomination focuses on the following areas
Candidate Qualities
We are looking for people who create genuine public value.
A clear awareness of social issues and the ability to respond to a real and significant social need;
An innovative spirit, with distinctive exploration in concepts, mechanisms, methods, technologies, or organizational approaches;
Practical outcomes supported by data, cases, feedback, or demonstrated social impact;
Sustained contribution, reflected in long-term commitment, professional accumulation, or exemplary influence in the relevant field;
Public value, demonstrated through the promotion of equity, inclusion, collaboration, well-being, rule of law, justice, or sustainable development.
We are not merely looking for success in a narrow sense. We are looking for individuals who create genuine public value in a complex era. They may come from universities, enterprises, governments, social organizations, nonprofit institutions, media platforms, rural communities, or the frontlines of innovation and entrepreneurship. Their contributions may take the form of long-term research, an innovative mechanism, a social project, a governance model, institutional advancement, a technological application, or a sustained journey of changing lives and social structures.
The Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Research Institute will organize an expert committee to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of nominees. The review will focus on each candidate’s social contribution, level of innovation, practical outcomes, professional influence, public value, sustainability potential, and regional significance. Selected individuals will be honored as the Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Impact Leader of the Year and may be featured through the Institute’s official website, international journal platforms, academic conferences, special reports, and global cooperation networks.
This recognition is not merely an honor. It is a call of our time. It calls upon those who still believe in change amid uncertainty, those who are willing to cross disciplinary, industrial, regional, and cultural boundaries, and those who transform personal wisdom into social value.
Today, the Asia-Pacific region faces multiple challenges, including educational inequality, technological disruption, population aging, urban-rural gaps, climate change, organizational transformation, the rebuilding of social trust, the advancement of the rule of law, and the realization of fairness and justice. More than ever, we need new ideas, new institutions, new technological applications, and new changemakers.
The Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Research Institute believes that contributions worthy of remembrance do not necessarily emerge from the grandest stages. They may grow from a classroom, a village, an enterprise, a community, a research project, an experiment, an institutional innovation, or a public advocacy effort. Truly meaningful impact is the kind that enables more people to live with greater dignity, opportunity, security, and hope.
We sincerely invite peers, researchers, practitioners, and institutions in the field of social innovation across the Asia-Pacific region to submit nominations and applications.
Award Calendar
Selection Timeline
Final deadline · October 1, 2026
August2026
Submission
Nominees submit profile details, portrait photos, and contribution statements.
October 12026
Final Deadline
All applications and supplementary materials must be completed.
October2026
Expert Review
The committee evaluates contribution, innovation, and public value.
Nov-Dec2026
Announcement
Final review, recognition, and selected leader features are released.
Let ideas be seen. Let actions be remembered.
Let social innovation become a shared language for advancing our time.
Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Research Institute · The 2026 call is now open