There is a substantial amount of time that people waste each day, such as waiting at train or bus stations, or waiting for class. Is it possible to develop a way that this time can be used for a social purpose?

SurvAid is an innovative survey platform whereby consumers are able to complete market research surveys and then, upon completion, donate the profits generated from that survey to a charity of their choice. The surveys could be distributed in a number of ways, such as via touch-screen computers at train stations, or an iPhone application. The incentive for consumers to complete the surveys is primarily social, however consumers would also go into the draw to win prizes for themselves that would be donated in-kind by companies. Hence, SurvAid allows individuals to utilise time that is otherwise wasted to generate income for social causes at minimal effort and zero financial cost. In addition to benefiting charities, SurvAid would also benefit small businesses. At the moment geographically specific market research is often prohibitively costly for small businesses. However with SurvAid, businesses could select for their survey to only be completed at certain locations. For example, a restaurant in Oxford could choose to only have their survey accessible at Oxford Train Station, or within the Oxford geographic region (in the case of the phone application). Access to such valuable data at low cost in turn gives small businesses insight into consumer demand specific to their area which will allow them to provide better services for their customer base. In this way SurvAid that simultaneously provides financial support to charitable organizations and important market research to small businesses.