IN PLANNING
Fast Forward
Where tomorrow’s lifesaving tech takes the stage.
Making all the connections happen
Solve
Shared challenges, shared tables
The biggest problems get the right mix of people working on them, together.
Seed
Ideas tested where it matters
Promising ideas become proven capabilities through small pilots, designed with the people who’ll use them.
Scale
What works, made to last
Proven capabilities are written into policy, budgets and partnerships, so money flows to readiness, not just response.
Our approach
01
Diagnose
Map the system, the people in it, and where time and lives leak away.
02
Design
Co-create options with responders and communities. Agree the guardrails early.
03
Test
Run small pilots with clear owners and clear success measures.
04
Scale
Embed what works in policy, budgets, partnerships and training.
In the making
Platforms and programmes we’re building with the ecosystem. Pick a card to take a closer look.
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IN PLANNING
Fast Forward
Where tomorrow’s lifesaving tech takes the stage.
WHAT IT IS
A festival where start-ups, hackathon teams and researchers put new technology to work on real emergency-response challenges.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Start-ups, scale-ups and hackathon teams
- Mission operators who’ll use what gets built
- Agencies, buyers, funders and investors scouting what’s next
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Live demos and test-beds, judged by the frontline
- Hackathons and the FIRST Beacon finals
- The annual gathering of the Lifesavers Fellowship
- Fresh findings from FIRST Horizon
HOW IT CONNECTS
The meeting point of every TLC platform.
IN PLANNING
Lifesavers Fellowship
A year-long journey for the frontline’s boldest innovators.
WHAT IT IS
A year-long programme for operators who champion innovation in their own organisations: the know-how and the network to bring new ideas into daily practice.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Firefighters, paramedics, rescuers and call-centre leads
- Emergency managers, planners and humanitarian practitioners
- Anyone on the operating side who drives change
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Regular sessions on emerging tech, with founders and researchers
- A cohort across agencies, disciplines and countries
- Study visits to science and innovation hubs
- An annual gathering at Fast Forward
HOW IT CONNECTS
Fellows bring frontline insight to FIRST Horizon and FIRST Beacon, and meet the ecosystem at Fast Forward.
IN PLANNING
FIRST Horizon
Frontline Innovation, Research, Science & Technology
See the future of the frontline before it arrives.
WHAT IT IS
A bespoke scouting service that maps what’s next for one corner of emergency response, say, the future of call centres.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Emergency services, authorities and agencies planning ahead
- Operators of mission-critical services
- Partners who want an independent view of what’s coming
WHAT TO EXPECT
- A report written for you on future trends, risks and threats
- The technologies most likely to matter, and when
- Proofs of concept scoped and ready to run
HOW IT CONNECTS
Findings feed into Fast Forward, and can become open challenges through FIRST Beacon.
IN PLANNING
FIRST Beacon
Frontline Innovation, Research, Science & Technology
Call the world’s solvers to the challenges that matter.
WHAT IT IS
The next step after FIRST Horizon: innovation challenges published to open the search for solutions, globally or in one market.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Partners with a problem to solve and a hypothesis to test
- Start-ups, researchers and teams with solutions
- Funders and investors looking for frontline-ready ideas
WHAT TO EXPECT
- A clearly framed challenge, sent to the right solvers
- A proof of concept to test your hypothesis
- A path from shortlist to pilot, with real users
- A start-up finals at Fast Forward
HOW IT CONNECTS
Builds on FIRST Horizon’s findings and brings its finalists to the stage at Fast Forward.
IN PLANNING
Portals
Step through to the futures of lifesaving.
WHAT IT IS
Future-scenario labs and thought experiments that help the sector imagine, stress-test and prepare for the futures it could face.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Leaders and strategists in emergency, disaster and humanitarian agencies
- Policy makers, planners and researchers who shape the long view
- Technologists, futurists, designers and curious minds
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Scenario labs set ten to thirty years out
- “What if…” provocations that challenge today’s assumptions
- Red-teaming of emerging threats, before they arrive
- Playbooks for future-ready teams and organisations
HOW IT CONNECTS
Portals opens the big questions; FIRST Horizon maps the specifics; the boldest ideas head to Fast Forward.
IN PLANNING
Lifesaving Foundry
Where lifesaving ideas are forged into ventures.
WHAT IT IS
An incubator that turns ideas from hackathons, research and prototypes into businesses that can serve the frontline.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Hackathon teams and FIRST Beacon finalists with a promising build
- Researchers with technology ready to leave the lab
- First-time founders, including responders with an idea from the field
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Incubation from problem validation to first product
- End-user advisors, test sites and pilot partners
- Help with company set-up, IP, regulation and certification
- Introductions to Lifesaving Angels and other investors
HOW IT CONNECTS
Takes the best ideas from Fast Forward, FIRST Beacon and Portals and readies them for Lifesaving Angels.
IN PLANNING
Lifesaving Angels
First cheques and hard-won wisdom from people who’ve been there.
WHAT IT IS
A network of angel investors, many of them former emergency-service operators, backing new lifesaving ventures with a first cheque, sweat equity and mentoring.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Former and serving responders, emergency managers and humanitarians who want to invest
- Angels and family offices drawn to lifesaving impact
- Founders looking for a first cheque from people who know the field
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Curated deal flow from Lifesaving Foundry, FIRST Beacon and Fast Forward
- Co-investment with shared due diligence
- Sweat equity for time and expertise
- Mentoring that turns frontline experience into better products
HOW IT CONNECTS
Invests in ventures from Lifesaving Foundry and FIRST Beacon, and meets founders on stage at Fast Forward.
IN PLANNING
Codeswitch
Switch between the frontline and start-ups, for a season or for good.
WHAT IT IS
A matching platform that pairs responders with start-ups through attachments, internships, secondments and career moves, so they can solve lifesaving challenges from the supply side.
WHO IT’S FOR
- Responders curious to see how innovative ventures work
- Start-ups that want frontline know-how on the team
- Agencies that want their people to bring new thinking back
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Matching on skills, problems and ambitions
- Attachments, internships and secondments with ventures
- Exposure visits and shadowing for a taste of start-up life
- Support for those ready to switch for good
HOW IT CONNECTS
Brings frontline know-how into Foundry teams and Angel-backed ventures, and new thinking back to the frontline.
Selected work
Proof, not promises
Technology pilot
[Client]: drone-led damage assessment
[One line on outcome, with a comparable unit — e.g. assessment time cut from 00 to 00 hours.]
Community readiness
[Client]: bystander CPR network
[One line on outcome — e.g. 0,000 residents trained across 00 neighbourhoods.]
Humanitarian partnership
[Client]: partner-led relief model
[One line on outcome — e.g. 00,000 people reached through 0 local partners.]
Let’s fit the pieces together.
Tell us about the problem you’re trying to solve. We reply within two working days.