£50,000 Nesta Inventor Prize opens for entries

Nesta, in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), has launched the £50,000 Inventor Prize, to inspire and harness the potential of the UK’s home-grown inventors and stimulate user-led innovation. Following a public consultation, Nesta discovered that many people have great ideas to solve everyday problems, but often struggle to get those ideas off the ground. It also found that there are many barriers faced by UK inventors that are limiting what products make it to market; for example, lack of finance and management skills, access to support and capital, and IP and legal issues.

The Inventor Prize will support individuals and small organisations to get their innovative products out of the – literal or proverbial – shed and on the road to market. The prize will offer 10 finalists the time, money and support to start that journey. The themes that the prize is looking to explore include (but are not limited to); financial inclusion; mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression; ageing and air quality.

Applications are open until 22 October 2017 to apply; simply fill out a short online form. In November, a panel of judges will select 10 finalists to each receive £5,000 and bespoke mentoring to develop their product. The overall winner of the Inventor Prize will be announced in September 2018 and will receive £50,000 to make their dream a reality. Two more promising products will also receive runner up prizes of £5,000 and £15,000.

Eligibility criteria

People in the UK

The Inventor Prize is looking for entries from individual inventors, small teams and small companies, based or residing in the UK. Applications from unincorporated groups are welcome, however, if an unincorporated association or group is selected as a finalist, they must be willing to incorporate.

New ideas for products

The prize is looking for physical and digital products that are new and not currently on the market or available commercially. To be eligible, entrants will have to have a working model of their product that demonstrates what the product is able to do. Entrants must be able to explain how their invention will help make the lives of people in the UK better.

Co-creation

It is important that the development of the idea is co-created with its intended users during the prize. This is to ensure that the idea is meeting a specified need, commercial potential and could help make the lives of people in the UK better. By entering the prize, entrants are committing to conducting user-testing and meaningful consultations during the finalist stage to support the development of their product.

Skills

Entrants must ensure that they have the capacity, or can have a realistic plan for how to develop or acquire the capacity, they need to develop their product during the prize. If selected as a finalist, some support will be provided, as part of the prize, to help finalists to achieve this.

Willingness to share the idea (Intellectual Property remains with entrant)

Entrants must be the creator of the product they are entering or have permission to enter it as a representative of the small business or group who created the product. Intellectual property will remain with the entrant, however, entrants must be willing to publicly share an outline of this product and, if they become finalists, what they have learnt through their participation in the prize.

To promote the prize, the entrants and inventors in the UK, Nesta intends to carry out and publish research about the insights gained through the Inventor Prize. Nesta will not divulge information relating to Intellectual Property in the public domain.

Judging Criteria

The Prize is looking for ideas that best meet the judging criteria outlined below.

Criterion One: INNOVATION

The product should be new, adapted or repurposed in a more effective way for its intended use.

What the judges will be looking for:

• Does the product introduce a completely new approach to solving the problem? Or is it an adaptation or improvement of an existing idea?
• Is the product significantly different from solutions already available? Is it new, aspirational, exciting, but practical?

Criterion Two: INSIGHT AND IMPACT

The entrant should demonstrate a real understanding of how their product could help make the lives of people in the UK better. Explaining what the need is and how the product addresses that need.

What the judges will be looking for:

• Does the applicant demonstrate how their product could help make the lives of people in the UK better?
• Does the applicant demonstrate understanding of the issue that their product could help to tackle?
• Has the applicant explored who can benefit from their idea?

Criterion Three: QUALITY AND SAFETY

Entrants should demonstrate an understanding of the relevant safety standards and regulations and how their product will seek to meet them, as well as being of high quality and attractive to users.

What the judges will be looking for:

• Will it be easy to use, safe and durable?
• Does the applicant demonstrate understanding of how the product can be tested to ensure it’s desirable, effective and easy to use?
• Will the product be desirable and functional?

Criterion Four: MARKET POTENTIAL AND FEASIBILITY

Entrants should consider who would buy their product and how much it will cost them to buy it. Entrants should ensure that their product is accessible and affordable to the potential users. Demonstrating an understanding of their target audience and ways to ensure successful commercialisation and the growth potential of their product.

What the judges will be looking for:

• Has the applicant considered and researched possible business models?
• Has the applicant considered how their product could be to taken to market?
• Has the target audience been identified?

Prize funding

Prize funding will only be awarded for projects that have an identifiable public benefit related to the aims of the prize and Nesta’s charitable objectives and where any private benefit to individuals, companies or shareholders is incidental and not excessive.

All prize funding will be awarded in the form of grants for the continued development of the idea.

Politics

The Inventor Prize cannot fund activity which is party-political in intention, use, or presentation nor to support or promote religious activity.

Applications are open until 22 October 2017 to apply; simply fill out a short online form.