Bias Bounty Mapping Equity Challenge
The Bias Bounty Mapping Equity Challenge supports data scientists in measuring open map coverage gaps and uncovering inequities that affect disaster preparedness in climate-vulnerable U.S. communities.
Funder: Zindi
Due Dates: October 31, 2026 (Submission close) | October 31, 2026 (Submission selection close)
Funding Amounts: $10,000 in prizes; individual prizes of $500 to $4,500
Summary: A data-science challenge to measure gaps in open map coverage and identify inequities affecting climate-vulnerable U.S. communities.
Key Information: Scored submissions must use only the challenge datasets; additional public data is permitted solely for the Best Bias Discovery prize.
Description
Zindi runs this challenge with Humane Intelligence and geospatial support from Radiant Earth, with support from the Heising-Simons Foundation. Participants estimate where Overture Maps coverage falls short across Census tracts in four study regions: Maricopa County, Arizona; the Northern California fire corridor; Eastern Oklahoma tribal statistical areas; and South-Central Texas. The work compares mapped roads, buildings, and points of interest with reference data to investigate gaps relevant to emergency dispatch, evacuation routing, and disaster relief.
Submissions receive an accuracy score and an automatic Bias Score examining disparities across rural and urban areas, tribal lands, vulnerability measures, and climate hazards. The challenge also rewards a documented discovery of an consequential coverage pattern that the automated scorecard does not capture.
