3. The Challenge is open to all local and foreign registered startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs). All applicants/entrants/participants ("Participants") must be above the age of 18 years old as at the date of entry and must submit their project proposals (“Project Proposals”) detailing their solution to a particular challenge statement (“Challenge Statement”) launched under the Challenge, via the official website at https://sustainability.innovation-challenge.sg/en/challenges/edition-2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Funding eligibility 

 

1. For all challenge statements under the Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge 2022, the Organiser may support local SMEs* with the Enterprise Development Grant (“EDG”) (for eligible enterprises). Awarded participants are required to submit a proposal for the grant through the Business Grant Portal (“BGP”). More information on documents required for submission can be found in the application form in BGP. The submissions will  be reviewed by the Organiser to determine the eligibility for funding under the EDG.

*The definition of local SMEs, for the purposes of the EDG, shall

1. Be a company that has a group annual sales turnover of not more than S$100 million; OR 
2. Have group employment size of not more than 200 employees; AND
3. At least 30% local shareholding (i.e. 30% local equity held directly or indirectly by Singapore Citizen(s) and/or Singapore Permanent Resident(s), determined by the ultimate individual ownership) 

 

 

   I. Awarded innovators may receive a POC development grant from Enterprise Singapore for selected challenge statements as indicated under the respective challenge briefs. Eligibility for the grant, actual quantum, early stage POC milestones tied to the grant and payment tranche(s) will be assessed by Enterprise Singapore, in consultation with the challenge owner and the awarded innovator.

Eligibility criteria and conditions apply* 

*The POC Development grants will be awarded to startups/SMEs incorporated in Singapore for projects with overseas pilot deployment potential. Foreign startups/SMEs may be considered if developmental activities are based in Singapore and only if a Singapore office is incorporated. For applications by a consortium or group of companies, the grant will be awarded to the lead applicant.

 

 

10. Participants are required to register for the Challenge by submitting a Project Proposal via the official website of the Challenge at https://sustainability.innovation-challenge.sg/en/challenges/edition-2022 and the same must be received by the Joint Organisers on or before 31 January 2023 at 23.59 PM (midnight GMT+8) Singapore Time ("Entry Deadline"). Each submission must be accurate and contain all required information. Incomplete or late entries may not be entertained. The Joint Organisers accept no responsibility for any late, lost or misdirected submissions including delays and/or failure of any electronic or telecommunication systems, including but not limited to technical faults and/or network disruptions/congestions. The Joint Organisers are not responsible for any technical or human error which may occur during the registration and/or administration of the Challenge.

 

11. In the case where submissions do not comply with the eligibility criteria, the submission of an application does not guarantee the Participant the opportunity to participate in the Challenge. The Organiser reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion, to reject or refuse participation of any Participant without providing any reason whatsoever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24. Challenge Rounds. The Challenge consists of several rounds: 

 

• APPLICATION (ROUND ONE) | Project Proposals will be accepted from 25 October 2022, 10.00 AM (GMT+8) to 31 January 2023, 23.59 PM (GMT+8).

• SELECTION PHASE - Shortlisting + Evaluation (ROUND TWO) | The shortlisting of participants will start on 1 March 2023 and finish by 28 March 2023. The most innovative solutions will be selected and the list of shortlisted innovators will be announced on the platform by 29 March 2023. Evaluation will start from 30 March 2023 to 10 May 2023. Challenge statement owners will organise 1-to-1 sessions with shortlisted innovators for further discussion and clarification, via offline calls or through the challenge platform. The list of awarded innovators will be announced by 11 May 2023 to proceed to the final round. 
• CLOSING CEREMONY (FINAL ROUND) |  The closing ceremony will take place at the end of June 2023. More information, including the confirmed date of the event, will be shared with the awarded innovators  at a later stage.

Notification to Participants. Once selection has been completed, Participants will be notified directly on the platform chat about the results of each Round. The Joint Organisers will be free to alter the dates on which results are released should this become necessary due to the number of projects to be assessed.  The ranking decided by the final jury will be announced on the day that presentations are made or post-final event should judges require more time to finalise the ranking. The Co-Organiser will notify the Participants accordingly.

• Round One

All Round One Project Proposals must be submitted before 28 February 2023, 23.59 PM (GMT+8). Project Proposals must meet the specifications set out in Section II, above, and include: 

• Answers to the participation form
• 5-10 slides PDF proposal deck, in English only, addressing the following issues:

1. Details of Applicant 
2. Executive Summary 
3. Ability to execute
4. Detailed project proposal, including:

• Technical feasibility of solution and novelty 
• Effectiveness in addressing the challenge 
• Potential benefits 
• Operational feasibilityBusiness feasibility of solution Capacity and expertise to execute
• Details on POC/MVP if applicable; Desired deliverables/milestones and outcomes of projects Others (as specifically requested by Challenge Brief)

• Round Two

Round Two will consist of Shortlisting and Evaluation by the Challenge Statement Owners. 

Shortlisting following Round One will proceed as follows: 

“Criteria based” voting will take place from 1 March 2023 to 28  March 2023.

The voters (the Organiser and Challenge Owners) (the “Voters”) may evaluate and select the Project Proposals based on their content and the following criteria:

• Technical Feasibility of solution and novelty (40%)
• Business feasibility of solution (30%)
• Capacity and Expertise to execute projects (20%)
• Clarity & Comprehensiveness of proposal and test plans (10%)

Additional criteria might be added at a later stage. The Co-Organiser shall inform all Participants if this were to happen, as well as update the Challenge Website accordingly.

Shortlisted innovators will be announced on the platform by 29 March 2023 

Evaluation will proceed as follows: 

Challenge statement owners will organise 1-to-1 sessions with shortlisted innovators for further discussion and clarification, via offline calls or through the challenge platform. 

Based on the results the list of awarded innovators will be announced by 11 May 2023 and proceed to the final round.

• Final Round 

The closing ceremony will take place at the end of June 2023. More information will be provided at a later stage to the awarded innovators.

 VI. ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES

 

25. The incentives are awarded to the winners of the Challenge and are subject to compliance with the following cumulative conditions: 

• The Project Proposals comply with clause 23
• Each Participant of a winning project complies with clause 24
• The winning Participants fulfil all applicable conditions of eligibility set out in Sections II and III.

The Joint Organisers reserve the right to not award incentives to winners who do not fulfill any of the above conditions, in which case the Joint Organisers reserve the right to withdraw the incentives and pick a replacement winner.

Subject to these Terms and Conditions, the benefits for the shortlisted and finalist Participants may include the following ("Indicative Benefits").

• Innovators that meet eligibility criteria (refer to clause 7 and 8) for grant application may be provided with funding support for solution development in each challenge statement.

• Depending on the challenge statements, other incentives (such as paid-trials and prize money) may be provided by Challenge Owners – refer to the Challenge Statements tab for more detailed information

For the avoidance of doubt, the Joint Organisers make no guarantee as to the provision of the Indicative Benefits. The Joint Organisers shall not be responsible for any risk or be liable for any claims, demands, liabilities, expenses, losses, cost or damage in connection with the provision or non-provision of any of the Indicative Benefits.

No assignment or transfer of incentives is allowed by a winner. If a potential winner cannot be reached, is unable to accept the incentives or any portion of the incentives for any reason, Joint Organisers shall have no further obligation to such potential winner. Joint Organisers will not replace any lost or stolen incentives after being awarded to winners. Winners will accept the incentives “as it is”. Joint Organisers disclaims any warranty regarding the incentives.

In the event a Participant (a winner) cannot be reached, by email or by phone, for more than three (3) months after the first attempt to reach them was made, he/she will be deemed as having waived their right to claim the incentives and will not be entitled to any incentives or any kind of compensation.

If the incentives as initially planned are unavailable, Joint Organisers will be free to substitute another incentive of similar value. Any such decision is at Joint Organisers’ sole discretion.

Any Participant who does not fulfil the conditions of Participation as provided in the Rules during their registration and/or at any time during the Challenge will be summarily disqualified from the Challenge without prior notice and will not be entitled to any incentives. In the event that an incentive is awarded to a Participant who does not meet the conditions of Participation when registering or throughout the duration of the Challenge, Joint Organisers reserve the right to require the Participant to return the awarded incentives.

VII. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (“IP”) 

26. By registering for the Challenge and submitting a Project Proposal, each Participant affirms that: 

1. the Project Proposal is his/her/the company’s original work;
2. the Participant(s) have the necessary rights to submit the Project Proposal; and
3. the Participant(s)’ submission does not violate any law or regulation or any rights of any third party.

 

27. The Organiser reserves the right to disqualify any Participant in a scenario where the Organiser believes in its sole and absolute discretion that the submitted Project Proposal or any part thereof infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party.

 

 

 

30. Shortlisted Participants and Finalist Participants shall grant the Challenge Owners a right of first refusal ("ROFR") to collaborate with said Shortlisted Participant or Finalist Participant on any commercialisation of IP generated during this Challenge ("Challenge IP"). The ROFR shall expire and cease to have effect 45 days after the end of the application phase on 28 February 2023, 23.59 PM (GMT+8). For the avoidance of doubt, the ROFR extends to intended commercialisation of the Challenge IP by the Shortlisted or Finalist Participant alone. Any extension of the ROFR validity period shall be negotiated between the Shortlisted or Finalist Participant and Organiser and/or Challenge Owners before its expiry. Participants shall fully retain their respective background IP rights, unless otherwise agreed between the Organiser and/or Challenge Owners and the Participant. Alternate or future arrangements of IP ownership shall be negotiated separately between the Participants and respective Challenge Owners and independent of the Organiser, after submission of the Project Proposal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38. These Rules shall constitute the entire agreement between the Organiser and the Participant and supersede all prior representations, arrangements, understandings and agreements between the Parties (whether oral or written) relating to the subject matter herein contained.

 

 

 

41. Participants shall not be entitled to assign any of the rights and obligations under these Rules without the express written consent of the Organiser.