PIF IDEAS CONTEST 2013 – Pakistan Innovation Foundation //

Do You Have an Idea that Solves One of Pakistan’s Problems?

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PIF Ideas Contest 2013

Purpose:

Pakistan Innovation Foundation is a private-sector-driven non-profit entity created to promote innovation within the private sector and the broader society in Pakistan. PIF’s Ideas Contest 2013 is a collaborative brainstorming exercise to help find ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions for Pakistan’s Problems.

What kind of Solutions Are We Looking for?
  • Agriculture and Rural Development
  • Manufacturing
  • Water, Climate, and Disaster Mgmt.
  • Better Governance
  • Energy
  • ICT for Development
  • Urban Living
  • Water, Climate, and Disaster Mgmt.
  • Better Governance
  • Energy
  • ICT for Development
  • Urban Living
Your Submissions may Target Any One of the following ‘Areas of Focus’:
  • Agriculture and Rural Developmenpage.1
  • Manufacturing
  • Water, Climate, and Disaster Mgmt.
  • Better Governance
  • Energy
  • ICT for Development
  • Urban Living
  • Literacy
The Competition:

PIF’s Ideas Contest 2013 was a collaborative brainstorming exercise to help find ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions for Pakistan’s Problems. The PIF Ideas Contest 2013 is a three-stage Contests whereby initial ideas have been judged and voted to determine Semi Finalists from (North, Centre, and South-West). The Semi Finalists have attended a one-day mentoring and training event in ISB, LHE, or KHI after which they got an opportunity to revise and refine their ideas. A list of Finalists will be announced from the refined ideas. Winners and Runner Up shall immediately follow from the Finalists.

Prizes, Certificates, and Benefits:

There are a number of prizes and certificates of accomplishment. These are:

  • First Prize: Pakistani Rupees 50,000 plus a Certificate of Accomplishment
  • Runner Up: Pakistani Rupees 25,000 plus a Certificate of Accomplishment
  • Finalists: Certificates of Accomplishment
  • Semi Finalists: Certificates of Participation in a ‘Hands-on’ Innovation Lab

Plus lots of mentoring and training on how to refine your ideas and practical advice on taking them forward from some of the leading innovators and entrepreneurs in Pakistan.

Contestants shall also learn critical skills that will benefit then when competing for the National Innovation Grand Challenge (More than PKR 5 million in Total Prize Money!) that will run from September 2013 to August 2013 and will involve actually developing a working prototype of an idea and demonstrating it in real life.

Rules of the Competition:

1) The Competition is Open to Contestants of All Ages.

2) The Contestants must register their entries by filling out a form on PIF’s website (http://pif.org.pk/ideascontest2013) and submitting any associated files such as figures, graphics, or diagrams relating to their idea. Contestants are required to think carefully about their ideas and provide as much detail as possible to enable a jury to evaluate the ideas. However, the decision of how much is revealed to convince the jury of the viability of an idea is that of the Contestants.

3) The ideas submitted should be original, concise, and relevant to the themes of the competition outlined above. The Contest may also entertain ‘non-original’ ideas but they need to be innovative in the manner they are being applied to the Pakistani context.

4) The participants may submit the entry any time during the Contest Window (July 15 to August 5, 2013) and may revise their entry at any time. However, One contestant may submit up two entries only, though we strongly encourage contestants to focus on their best entry.
5) By submitting an entry, the contestants give PIF the right to use the disclose the ideas in a manner  complete ‘non-exclusive’ license to use all ideas submissions in original or altered form as it deems appropriate. However, Any supporting documents or diagrams submitted with the entry shall not be divulged to the public without prior permission of the contestant.

6) By submitting an entry, the contestants certify that the work being submitted is their own and absolve PIF or its partners of any claims – legal or moral – of intellectual property infringement of any kind. ‘Non-original’ ideas must have an innovative and original angle to application in Pakistan. And this will be evaluated by the judges.

7) PIF reserves the rights to exclude any entry from the competition without having to disclose a reason for it. PIF also reserves the right to modify certain rules of the competition to allow better competition without jeopardising the intent of the overall contest.idea_challenge2

8) The judges shall decide 85% of the marks of an entry based on a variety of criteria including relevance, innovativeness, simplicity and clarity of the idea, resourcefulness and out-of-the-box thinking, the size of likely impact, among others. Entries must score at least a minimum threshold (50%) points to be eligible for voting. The decision of the judges will be final and binding.

9) The training and mentoring provided to the Semi-Finalists is free of cost. However, PIF is not responsible for travel or boarding expenses for the participants. Contestants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the city (ISB, LHE, or KHI) nearest to their place of residence.

Visit our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PakistanInnovationFoundation) for latest updates and our website (pif.org.pk) to fill out a submission form.