Deadline: June 30, 2019
The Spindle Award for Best Innovation 2019 is open for applications. An award for new solutions in development cooperation that contribute to a just, inclusive and sustainable world. Each year The Spindle rewards the best innovative concepts in the field of international development. They welcome innovative applications from all over the world and from all types of actors and organisations.
If you or your organisation has a prototype of a product or project, which contributes to an inclusive, just and a sustainable world you are ready to join! Have you recently developed a new way of approaching a challenge at work? Did you write a new policy or provide a new service? Or did you deliver a new programme that changes the way things were done before? Did you basically find a new solution to a problem recently that your target group would consider valuable? Then you might have an innovation in your hands that could win The Spindle Award for Best Innovation. Dare to share!
Prizes
The shortlisted applications (the 10 finalists) come to The Netherlands to meet fellow contestants, network with potential donors and present a pitch to the jury.
The teams are in the running to win The Spindle Award for Best Innovation at the Partos Innovation Festival in the presence of peers from around the world, a delegation of the most important Dutch NGOs and win a grant for the numbers 1,2 and 3 (€15.000, €10.000, €5.000).
Eligibility
You can apply if:
- The project is set up more than 6 months ago but is not yet over 2 years old before the time of submission
- The project finds itself in a phase somewhere between ‘tested concept’ and ‘early upscaling’. Meaning, it cannot be large scaled-up projects.
- The submission should contain a clear explanation on how the project contributes to one or more of the themes of the Spindle
- You or another representative of your project is available to come to the Netherlands from the 10th to the 11th of October and participate in the Partos Innovation Festival
While selecting the 10 best innovations, the jury focuses on the following elements:
- Thematic focus: The innovation contributes to the achievement of the SDGs and creates impact for one or more of The Spindle themes.
- Recent: The innovation was introduced no longer than two years ago.
- A clear problem: The innovation contributes to the solution of a clear problem in development cooperation and/or civil society organisations.
- Originality: Does your innovation provide a distinctive, new solution to a development cooperation need?
- Impact: How big is the impact you can (potentially) create with your innovation?
- Involvement: How is the (local) target group involved in the innovation?
- Sustainability: How (financially) sustainable is your innovation?
- Scalability: How and to which extent can you scale it up?
- Appealing: Can you make people enthusiastic about your innovation?
Application
- June 30th – Call Closes: Entries for The Spindle Award for Best Innovation close on June 30th, 23:59h Amsterdam Time.
- August 1st – Finalists (10) Announcement: On August 1st, the jury will select ten nominees based on all the received application forms. The jury will focus on the criteria listed below.
- August 31st – Deadline input spending plan for the ten finalists: The ten finalists will be contacted by The Spindle to elaborate on the way they would like to spend the award money and how they look at the future possibilities of their project.
- October 9th/10th – Selecting three nominees: All ten shortlisted applicants are invited to the pitch event on October 9th or 10th in the Netherlands, where the jury decides which three will proceed to the finals on October 11th.
- October 11th – The winners: During the Partos Innovation Festival, the top 3 of the Best Innovation Award 2019 and their related prizes will be announced.
For more information, visit The Spindle Award.
