Welcome to UpLink! This guide provides you an overview of what UpLink is and how it can help you drive positive impact for the global public good.

What is UpLink?

Launching with dedicated sprints for Ocean solutions, Trillion Trees and COVID-19 challenges, UpLink is becoming the open digital platform for mass participation to accelerate progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UpLink enables the next generation of mission-driven entrepreneurs and young innovators to join forces with a trusted community of leading organisations, to deliver impact at scale.

3 Easy Steps to Get Started

1. Create your account on UpLink

To create an account on UpLink, first you need to sign up. If you sign up with your email address or phone number, you will receive an authentication code to your inbox or phone each time you log in. Alternatively, you can use your LinkedIn credentials to access the platform. The benefit of signing up via your LinkedIn credentials is that you can import your profile details.

Note: if you use your phone number, please enter it in a valid format (+country code <space> your number)

I already have a TopLink account. Can I access UpLink from TopLink?

Even though we don't have a direct link from TopLink to access UpLink, you can use your TopLink credentials to sign up and log into UpLink. The benefit of signing up via your TopLink credentials is that you can import your profile details.

2. Update your Profile

Your personal UpLink profile is the best way to present yourself to the wider UpLink community. Keeping it up-to-date opens up opportunities to collaborate and connect to potential experts, mentors, investors who could help advance your ideas or projects.

How can I edit my profile?

Click on your profile picture on the top-right corner to access your profile. Please note that any information (including your contact details) will be visible to all UpLink users who log into the platform.

Who can see my profile?

You have three options when setting up your profile on UpLink:

• Public - your profile details will be visible to anyone browsing UpLink, even if they have not registered
• Restricted - only your basic profile details (name, role, country) will be visible to anyone browsing on UpLink. Registered UpLink users once logged in will see further details (contact, background etc)
• Private - only your basic profile details (name, role, country) will be visible to anyone browsing on UpLink. Only the Forum’s Curators will see further details (contact, background etc)

3. Set Up your Notifications

The default notifications will help you stay updated on the most important activities on UpLink. You can edit them at any time under the "Settings" option.

How to Contribute

We are currently welcoming contributions across 3 topics: Ocean, COVID-19 and Nature-Based Solutions.

As soon as you are ready, you can submit your contribution. UpLink curators will review it and come back to you with questions and will work with you to make it as complete as possible. When your contribution is ready to be scaled/enhanced/accelerated/adopted, you will become a trusted and verified UpLink user yourself and you will be "UpLinked" with pool of experts, accelerators, mentors, to collaborate!

How can I learn about the key challenges on UpLink?

From the Home page, click on the burger menu on the top-left corner and select Topics. Hoover over the topic of your choice and click on Explore.

The key challenges related to a Topic can be found under the Take Action section.

Click on the challenge you would like to contribute to and learn about what our experts identified as key roadblocks. To submit your perspective or solution, click on the Take Action button on the bottom-right corner.

What is the difference between Perspectives and Solutions?

Do you believe we are not focusing on the most important and urging problems (roadblocks)? Submit your perspective and tell us what we are missing. The more information you share, the better we understand your perspective.

Do you already have a solution in mind? Maybe something you have already implemented on a local level? Submit it as a solution and let us know what you would need to increase the impact of your project.

I don't have all the information yet for my submission. Can I save it as a draft?

Yes. We acknowledge that writing a great proposal takes time. You can save your contribution in draft status by clicking Close and Keep as Draft.

Where can I find the perspectives, solutions I have drafted/submitted?

Both drafted and submitted contributions can be found on your profile page under the Your Contributions section.

What happens with my perspective, solution once I submitted it?

The Ocean, and the Nature-Based submissions might be closed, but we continue to welcome new contributions on our COVID Social Justice Challenge. Once your perspective or solution is submitted, our curation team will review it and reach out to you with next steps. Further activities and topics will soon be added on the platform - stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, you can join our action groups and interact with other like-minded community members.

To confirm in which stage your submission is, open your contribution and check its status.

• Draft: Your contribution is visible only to you at this stage. You can continue editing your proposal at any time via the "Edit" button
• Submitted: Submitted proposals cannot be edited anymore.
• Under Review: Your contribution is currently being reviewed by the Forum's Curators.
• Reviewed: The Forum's Curators will mark any good-quality contributions as "Reviewed". Shortlisted submissions will have a stamp "Shortlisted" on their banner as well as the members of our Cohorts. You can edit a "Reviewed" contribution, however, you need to re-submit it for approval

Who can see the perspective, solution I have submitted?

Before you submit a solution or perspective, you are asked to choose your Privacy Settings.

• Public: everyone can see your contribution and start a conversation on it
• Restricted: only UpLink trusted and verified users can see your contribution fully, everyone else can see just a summary (title, picture and location)
• Private: only our UpLink curators can see the information, others won't know that you are giving your contribution (before "Accepting" a solution or perspective, the curators will ask you to change the Privacy Settings to Public or Restricted so it becomes visible to potential "supporters" as well)

Are there any good examples I could learn from?

If you are looking for some inspiration for what level of details, information we are looking for, visit the contributions already accepted on UpLink.

From the Home page, scroll down to the Discover Uplink section.

Joining Action Groups

Joining Action Groups is a great way to engage with other members of the UpLink Community and also with the Forum's Curators team. You can use this space to share ideas and knowledge, drive open discussions and stay informed about key updates on the progress of the Challenges.

You can access Action Groups either from the burger menu on the top-left corner or scrolling down on your Home page until the Discover UpLink section.

Feedback & Support

For technical support, please contact us at uplinksupport@weforum.org.

Note: UpLink is currently supported on Google Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox browsers. Event though it's not yet available, we would also love to build a native mobile app soon.