The ideas are in: We’re now entering a new phase of the THINK Prize 16 Financial Longevity Challenge. In total, 137 ideas were submitted to the OpenIDEO site for consideration. Of these, 30 have been selected to continue into our final phases as we move toward naming our THINK Prize 16 winners on February 1. The THINK Prize team from CO-OP, OpenIDEO and Mastercard have been impressed by all of the ideas that came out of our workshops, and those submitted by our larger OpenIDEO Community. We have also been incredibly inspired by the extensive collaborations and connections forged during this process. From the robust ideas to the considerable comments, as a community, you illuminated countless efforts to make financial services more useful and accessible. As we turn our energy towards refining these ideas, we're thrilled to share our shortlist of ideas moving forward. Visit the Refinement page to check out all 30 ideas and read a little about them. Whether or not you posted an idea – and whether or not your idea made it to Refinement – we invite you to rally around making this shortlist the best it can be during our brief Refinement phase – now through January 22. We also want to encourage those whose ideas didn't make it to our Refinement list to continue to evolve. Keep up all those great collaborations and keep pushing forward. Read on for insights on how we chose Refinement ideas and what we're looking for going forward. We’ve also listed some resources to help you make the most of Refinement, or continue developing your own solution for members over 50. What we looked for in the Ideas phase We had a lot of inspiring contributions in the Ideas phase, and choosing our shortlist for Refinement wasn’t easy. To narrow the list, our team asked the following questions:

• Does the idea have a clear focus on financial services and products that reflect the needs and dreams of those 50 and older?
• Does the idea bring something completely new to the field or ignite existing efforts in a new way?
• Could you give someone else the blueprint of your idea to go test in their local community?
• Is the idea both scalable and replicable?

What we want to see in the Refinement phase As we continue to refine ideas, we will be looking for solutions that:

• Define what success looks like and potential challenges to getting there
• Describe the specific community need an idea addresses and how it'll help them overcome it
• Illustrate a road map for implementation, including resources and partnerships
• Exhibit commitment to following through with implementation, including clear next steps
• Distinguish the idea from other existing efforts in the space
• Have been tested with lightweight experiments that expose the idea to potential end users – even a few of them. More tips on prototyping.

As a community, it's our job to help the ideas in Refinement meet these goals as quickly as possible while always keeping the end user in mind. Remember the Evaluation Criteria previously posted to ensure that ideas are heading in the right direction. Our User Experience Map is another great resource. On February 1, we'll announce our Top Ideas. We can't wait for the community's insights and questions to guide us to solutions that are truly aligned with the dreams of obligations of #FinancialLongevity. Visit the THINK 16 Financial Longevity Challenge now.