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Jul 31, 2025
By the Philips Foundation team
"We’ve set a bold target: reaching 100 million people annually with quality healthcare by 2030. What if the next big idea came from Philips employees?” said Victor de Boer, Program Manager at Philips Foundation, during an initial brainstorm about Philips Foundation’s tenth anniversary campaign.
That question sparked the launch of the Social Impact Award, a global internal competition, where Philips employees were invited to submit their own ideas to shape the future of healthcare for underserved communities. On the table: the chance to bring their idea to life with a €300,000 in-kind donation to their selected non-profit partner organization. The competition kicked off in late 2024, during the celebration of Philips Foundation’s tenth anniversary. What followed was astounding: 117 ideas were submitted by nearly 300 Philips employees around the world, each grounded in local knowledge and a shared belief: that technology and innovation in healthcare can change lives. From that first wave of ideas, ten finalists were selected, spread over eight regions. Over the following months, these teams were paired with mentors, refined their concepts, and received expert guidance from the Foundation. The ideas ranged widely – from an initiative in India empowering frontline health workers to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, to a maternal health program for indigenous communities in the US. Yet all shared several key criteria: bold, innovative ideas with scalable potential, and a clear focus on reaching underserved communities.
We’ve set a bold target: reaching 100 million people annually with quality healthcare by 2030. What if the next big idea came from Philips employees?
Victor de Boer
Program Manager at Philips Foundation
Next came the Semi-Final, a virtual event bringing together more than a thousand Philips employees watching live from around the globe. An expert jury, composed of Philips’ Chief Medical Officer, the Head of Design and the Head of Research, selected the three strongest finalists to advance to the Grand Final in June 2025.
And the winner is… The Grand Final was broadcast live from the new Philips head office in Amsterdam, bringing together the three finalist teams from Greater China, the Middle East & Türkiye and Asia-Pacific. They were joined by members of Philips Foundation’s Board, who served as the jury for this important event, and many employees. With excitement in the air and months of preparation behind them, the three teams pitched their ideas, each rooted in urgent local needs. The winning idea came from the Greater China team, with an ambitious five-year plan to bring a mobile CT scanner to underserved urban and rural areas, aiming to improve early cancer detection in populations that currently lack access to advanced imaging.
We are ushering in a new chapter of innovation within maternal and infant mobile health by delivering advanced ultrasound technology to the doorstep of moms in Phoenix, Tucson, and Washington, DC.
Elizabeth Cherot
President and CEO of March of Dimes
Their proposal stood out for its clinical relevance, scalability, and clear implementation pathway. With the support of the €300,000 prize, the project aims to reach hundreds of thousands of people, significantly reducing delays in diagnosis and enabling timely interventions that can save lives. "Too many patients are diagnosed too late, simply because technology hardly reaches them. We wanted to flip that, to bring the solution to where the need is," said Yixiao Qiao, a member of the winning team working as a CT Service Product Manager for Philips in China. "We’re excited to take the next steps in shaping this initiative and turning the idea into reality. The real work begins now.” The Award wasn’t just about the winners. Bronwyn Gray, Business Manager at Philips Ultrasound and finalist from the Asia-Pacific region, led a submission to tackle breast cancer in Indonesia. "We didn’t take home the trophy," she said, "but we gained support, visibility, and momentum to keep going."
A launchpad for the future The competition may have ended, but its impact continues. For many Philips employees, the Award was a rare chance to step outside day-to-day roles and channel their expertise into something deeply personal and meaningful. “For all involved, it was a journey of learning, understanding the realities of underserved communities, and realizing where the biggest impact could be made,” said Margot Cooijmans, then Director of Philips Foundation. “And for Philips Foundation, the Social Impact Award revealed just how much creativity, regional insight, and medical expertise exist within Philips.” It also served as a powerful reminder that great ideas do not emerge in isolation. “In the end, what stood out was a deep connection between Philips and Philips Foundation, united by a shared mission to improve access to quality healthcare.” Marnix van Ginneken, Chief ESG & Legal Officer and Chair of the Board of Philips Foundation, concluded. “The ideas submitted through the Award are already being explored further, influencing a new way in how Philips and the Philips Foundation approach social innovation and collaboration to deliver better care for more people, everywhere.”
The ideas submitted through the Award are already being explored further, influencing a new way in how Philips and the Philips Foundation approach social innovation and collaboration to deliver better care for more people, everywhere.
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