Making All Voices Count – Global Innovation Competition 2015 (Win a trip to Indonesia)

Deadline: October 15, 2014

Making All Voices Count invites entries for the Global Innovation Competition (GIC) 2015. Making All Voices Count is a global initiative that supports innovative thinking, scaling, and research that deepens both existing and new innovations that enable better citizen engagement and government responsiveness. The GIC 2015 aims to support projects whose objectives match those of the wider Making All Voices Count initiative.

The Global Innovation Competition tackles a different governance and accountability problem each year, and makes use of public votes to identify and score entries. A peer review process is used to scrutinise the most promising entries, and the applicants that make it to the final are invited to attend the Global Innovation Week in Jakarta.

The GIC is open to applicants from around the world with inspiring ideas, either proven or to be developed. Like the GIC 2014 in which 40,000 users had their say, everyone is invited to participate; public votes will determine which entries progress in the competition.

Themes

Making All Voices Count is scouting the globe for transformative ideas/proven concepts. The themes for which you can submit your idea are listed below.

They relate to the programme’s overarching goal; better governance, transparency and accountability, and decreased corruption. The first two themes are also promoted by the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

• Legislative Openness – Inclusive and Participatory Lawmaking
• Sub-national Governance
• Gender Equality
• Building Resilience and Response to Humanitarian Crisis

Awards

• £300,000 in grants available to winners
• Finalists will attend the Global Innovation Week in Jakarta, Indonesia; a programme of intensive mentoring and networking in the second week of April 2015. The week will conclude with the Global Innovation Gala, at which contestants make their final pitch followed by the Global Innovation Jury’s announcement of the winners
• Winners will receive grants to support their projects, plus expert mentorship.

Eligibility

• GIC grants are awarded to applicants with particularly innovative ideas or proven concepts.
• The applicant must prove they will implement the idea/proven concept in a Making All Voices Count country. The Making All Voices Count countries are Bangladesh, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
• Anyone is welcome to apply: companies, government actors, non-profits, for-profits, education establishments, NGOs or individuals.
• Applicants from last year’s GIC are also eligible to reapply.
• Applicants can apply with as many ideas/proven concepts as they wish, however only one application per entity will qualify for the second round, and that will be the application with the most votes.

Application Process

Applicants will be required to provide information in two stages; a more limited amount for the first round, followed by more thorough answers in the second, should you qualify.

The first round questions include:

• What is your innovative idea / concept?
• How does your innovative idea / concept promote better governance, transparency, accountability and/or decreased corruption?
• How do you intend to engage government with your idea / concept?
• How does your idea/concept engage with gender equality and/or the rights of disadvantaged groups?
• Why should YOU win?

The GIC 2015 will have the following four rounds:

1. First Round: The Public Votes
2. Second Round: The Peer Review
3. Third Round: The Screening Review
4. Final Round: The Global Innovation Week in Jakarta, Indonesia

NOTE: Please consult this GIC 2015 manual and the FAQs carefully before applying. If your question still remains, email us at gic@makingallvoicescount.org.

For more information and to apply, visit the Making All Voices Count GIC 2015.