Science Tokyo student startup wins three awards, including the Grand Prize, at “Challenge!! Open Governance 2024”

D-attend, a student research startup led by Nao Takizawa, a third-year doctoral student (second-year at the time of participation) from Professor Saijo’s Research Team in the Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society at Science Tokyo, received three major awards—including the Grand Prize—at Challenge!! Open Governance2024, a policy co-creation competition where citizens and students propose solutions to local government issues. Partnering with Nakano Ward in Tokyo, D-attend stood out among 110 participating teams, earning the Grand Prize for Open Governance, the Special Innovation Award from Harvard Kennedy Schools Ash Center, and the Silver Prize in the Online Voting Category at the final public review event held on March 16, 2025.

The team’s proposal, “Nakano Community Care Platform: Iroiro Life Log,” presents a system that collects and shares daily life data from local elderly communities to enable early intervention and reduce care burdens. The project targets a crucial challenge: identifying older adults in need of care before crises occur. Over two years, D-attend conducted more than 500 interviews in Nakano, revealing a systemic disconnect. Many older adults hesitate to speak up about their needs due to a desire not to “burden others,” while municipal staff face difficulties reaching residents who do not seek help on their own. This disconnect often leads to delayed responses, where early warning signs are missed, and care needs are only recognised after falls or hospitalisation. Early identification is therefore essential. D-attend focused on grassroots community spaces in Nakano, where organisers regularly interact with elderly residents. The team developed a lightweight system that integrates check-in cards and an app, health questionnaires, and note-taking functions for community leaders. These small signals, such as “they haven’t been around lately” or “seem slightly unwell”, are digitised and, when necessary, can trigger alerts to local support centres. This approach enables respectful, preventative engagement and may also reduce long-term medical and care costs. "The idea of leveraging tacit knowledge—like recognising small signs of changes in condition—is excellent," noted one judge. "It’s impressive that there’s already a working model. Rather than simply digitizing community data, the team has implemented a thoughtful and user-friendly system that respects the people who use it."

Currently, D-attend is conducting pilot tests in several communities in Nakano. Following the award, a formal joint research agreement has been signed between Nakano Ward, D-attend Co., Ltd., and Saijo Research Team. A report was also presented to Naoto Sakai, the Mayor of Nakano. Looking ahead, the initiative aims to build a neighbourhood-based safety net that can act early before a crisis strikes.

• Challenge!! Open Governance2024 (Japanese)
• Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society
• School of Environment and Society
• Miki Saijo | Researcher Finder – Science Tokyo STAR Search
• Saijo Research Team