PIPs Education Fund (PEF)

A New York State 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping students bridge the education equity gap WHILE making a difference in the world, developed a mobile behavior motivation and tracking platform—the PIPs RewardsTM App (PIPs App)—to power an action-study program called PIPs for School (P4S).

Students participating in a P4S program get special access to the PIPs App. The app offers them multiple “touch points” through which a wide range of personal responsibility actions is recognized and rewarded with PIPs that can be saved up and exchanged for highly valued rewards, including grants for school. The app uses a mix of action tracking tools from API integration to machine learning (AI) and QR codes to capture and reward user activity.

Recent research shows that PIPs’ unique program is able to maintain student engagement, motivate behavior change, and foster in students a sense of agency and responsibility to the world around them. As one student PIPs user observes, “PIPs is about developing and growing as a person. It’s about being more aware that there are problems in the world and that we have the power to change things.”