2013 Dates and Deadlines
March 1-Deadline to Apply
(note: early entries by January 28, 2013 are automatically entered into the Dell Social Innovation Challenge's $350,000 competition and you can continue to update your project)
April 8-Written Plan and Video Due
April 30-Final Pitch
May 3- Awards Ceremony
Who Can Enter
All USD students, graduate and undergraduate, are encouraged to participate. You can enter your idea at any stage of innovation: define, design, pilot or scale. Enter with a team or make a profile to recruit or join other teams on campus.
Compete for Cash Prizes
Completed entries due March 1, 2013.
USD community judges select semi-finalists.
Semi-finalists submitt full written plan and video by April 8th, 2013.
USD community judges select finalists. Finalists pitch to judges on April 30, 2013.
Finalists receive professional coaching and pitch their innovations in front of judges and a live audience.
Winners announced at Awards Ceremony and awarded up to $40,000 in cash prizes on May 3, 2013!
Get Started
- Register and create a profile.
- Create or join a team.
- Complete your project page.
- Learn new skills and refine your ideas.
- Submit your innovation.
Project Competitions: Four Phases of Innovation
We offer four project entry categories to reward and support innovations at all phases of social impact development. You can submit as many project entries as you’d like in any phase.
Define: social impacts and the innovation driving them exist conceptually in your head, or you've a few general ideas with limited research at this point.
Design: impact potentials are taking shape as project execution assumptions are tested with potential customer/beneficiaries, beginnings of formal internal and external teams and some details on project pilot locale and test elements are captured.
Pilot: the innovation project has been tested with a small group of customer/beneficiaries and is getting verifiable impacts. Team continues making project improvements based on live experience in the field.
Scale: the innovation has proven successful at achieving social impacts in more than one geographic area. The project has sustainable financial and human resource models with strong leadership and strategic partner support in place.
Judging Criteria
We’re looking for social innovations. What’s a social innovation? It’s an idea that significantly improves results around existing social or environmental problems. We’re looking for innovations that can grow to create global impacts, so your passion and abilities to drive such growth are also as important as your innovation idea.
USD Judges will evaluate projects using three primary criteria:
Clarity of the innovation and significance of social impacts potentials.
Demonstration of a high probability of success.
Potential impact from winning award money.
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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| Applications | *What is the eligibility criteria for an applicant? Any USD student - undergraduate / graduate , from any of the schools within USD can apply. * I am graduating in May 2013- can I apply? Of Course! However, we would need your commitment towards implementing the project atleast till the milestone review in Dec 2013. *My project is International and I might be out of the US next fall- busy implementing my project. How do I manage the milestone review in Dec 2013? No Problem.If your project is international, the milestone review can be done via skype,VOIP or any other new technological innovation that can make international communication effecient. *Can I apply as a team instead of applying as an individual? Yes,Absolutely! * I am a USD faculty member/alumni - am I eligible to apply? Currently applications are open only to USD students. Faculty and alumni are invited to offer mentorship opportunities to students. |
| Social Innovation | What is a social innovation? A social innovation is a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than present solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals (Stanford University) |
| Resources | Where can I find resources to help guide me? http://www.sandiego.edu/cpc/sic/ (Applicants are also welcome to approach the CPC for more resources specific to your project needs, if required) |
| Mentorship | *Where can I find mentor information? http://www.sandiego.edu/cpc/sic/Mentorship.php * What is the mentor matching process? Detailed Information on mentor-mentee matching can be found here:http://www.sandiego.edu/cpc/sic/Mentorship.php *When is the mentorship requirement mandatory? Throughout the May-December implementation period. |
| Privacy / Copyright | * Can I be assured that my project idea/proposal details would not be compromised? Apart from the judging and the screening committee your proposal details will not be shared with anyone without your consent. Please be informed that in the phase 2 of our contest ( Project Pitching Stage), your presentations will have an audience.The extent to which you would want to disclose your project details will be solely based on your discretion. Please read our confidentiality statement here : Intellectual_Property_SIC_2012 |
| Previous Winners | Where can I find the list of last years’ winning projects? |
More Information
Contact Nadia Auch at the Center for Peace and Commerce via email at nauch@sandiego.edu
or call (619) 260-4857.
