Rules

 

Rules – General

• The Technology Strategy Board has allocated up to £600k in funding for disruptive solutions that meet the scope of the energy, digital, healthcare, & sustainability themes
• The funding will be awarded as a de minimis grant to the best proposals
• You must be de minimis State Aid rules compliant (This competition will operate under de minimis State Aid rules (EC regulation 1998/2006), and projects can be funded up to 100% of project costs (no greater than £100k).  There is a ceiling of €200,000 (approximately £165,000) for all de minimis state aid provided to any one firm over a 3-year period.  It is the responsibility of all participants to keep records of public funds received under de minimis state aid regulations to ensure that they do not exceed the State Aid thresholds for this type of funding.)
• In each of the theme areas the 3 best proposals will be funded. The best proposal will receive up to £100k. The other 2 will receive up to £25k in project funding.
• The competition is only open to micro, small and medium sized companies (250 employees or fewer), whether as single companies or in collaboration with other small or micro companies
• The competition is a three-stage process starting with a video pitch. Stage one of the competition will open on Monday 6 September and close at midday on Thursday 16 September 2010.
• The projects are expected to commence by January 2011.
• The judges’ decision is final. By judges we mean the Technology Strategy Board working with our independent assessors and panel of expert judges.
• You can only submit one proposal in total
• No feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants.

Rules – Stage 1: video pitch and feedback

• Videos must be submitted in file formats specified on the innovate10.co.uk website
• Videos will be required to be uploaded on innovate10.co.uk
• Remember these videos will be in the public domain – do not reveal any IP sensitive information
• Video pitches should not exceed 2 minutes - Judges will only review the first 2 minutes of each submission.
• The public will be invited to review and comment on video submissions. Judges will make use of this information when deciding on who to invite to stage 2 of the competition.
• The public are allowed to provide 1 piece of feedback per video. If the judges become aware of any irregularities in the use of the feedback system we reserve the right to reject the submission.
• The judges will be looking for submissions that meet the scope and clearly provide a business opportunity
• Up to 60 submissions (up to 15 per theme area) will be invited to stage 2 of the competition where entrants will be required to submit a written application

Rules – Stage 2: Written submissions

•  A draft of the application form used for the written submission can be found at innovate10.co.uk
• Those invited to the written stage will be provided with more information on how to submit their application at the time
• Your written proposal will be based on a three month projects worth up to £25k. However we will ask you a separate question to find out what you would do if you received up to £100k for a project lasting up to six months.
• In the second stage, a panel of independent assessors will score the the written submission.
• The top 12 written submissions (3 in each theme area) will be invited to stage 3 of the competition – to pitch at Innovate on October 12

Rules – Stage 3: Pitching at Innovate 10

• Stage 3 of the competition is a live pitch at Innovate 10
• Innovate 10 takes place on October 12 at the Business Design Centre in London
• The 12 finalists (3 from each theme area) will pitch for up to £100k of project funding for a project lasting up to 6 months.
• The pitches will take place in front of a panel of 4 expert judges with the Innovate audience acting as a 5th ‘judge’.
• Each of the 5 judges will score the finalists based on the pitch and the Q&A following the pitch. The judges’ scores will be equally weighted at 20% each, totalling 100%.
• The best proposal in each theme will receive up to £100k. The other 2 will receive up to £25k in project funding.
• Funding awards will be announced on the day at Innovate 10