General aspects
What are The Innovation in Politics Awards?
The annual Innovation in Politics Awards have been created to recognise creative, courageous
politicians and their innovative projects in the member countries of the Council of Europe.
They were presented for the first time in 2017.
Who is behind the Awards?
The Awards are presented by The Innovation in Politics Institute. We are a private,
non-partisan organisation, supported by a Europe-wide group of concerned citizens from a
broad political spectrum. We have established local offices in twelve European countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania,
Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
They provide information and support in their respective local languages.
What is the purpose of the Awards?
We see it as our mission to recognise and support those politicians in Europe who have the
courage to break new ground, are creative and achieve results – regardless of party affiliation
and regional level. We will present these Awards because we want European politics to
improve.
Our quality of life lives and dies with politics. Along with our European values: human rights,
social balance and democracy. These values are currently under threat − from nationalists on
the inside who want to divide us into small, weak countries, and from global changes on the
outside.
Against this backdrop, the finalists of The Innovation in Politics Awards form a growing
network of credible and reputable politicians working for a stronger Europe.
What projects are rewarded?
Projects are rewarded in ten categories: Community, Democracy, Digitalisation,
Ecology, Economy, Education, Human Rights, Quality of Life, Regional
Development and Coping with Covid-19. The projects must be innovative and meet at least one of the following
additional criteria: Participation, Building Trust, and Sustainability.
How many winners are there and what are the prizes?
The ten entries with the highest scores in each of the ten categories will automatically
become finalists. The owners of these projects will be invited to the Award ceremony (date
and venue to be announced soon). The highest-scoring project in each category will be the
category winner and will receive a trophy.
Can I participate?
As a resident of a member country of the Council of Europe, you can nominate a project which
fulfils the submission criteria, and you can apply to become a juror (for details see the
“Nominations” and “Jury Applications” sections).
As a politician responsible for a project that fulfils the criteria, you are invited to submit it.
Nominations
What is the difference between nominations and submissions?
A nomination brings a project to our attention – this is something anyone can do. After
receiving a nomination, we contact the politician responsible for the project and invite him or
her to officially submit it to the Awards competition.
Can I nominate a project?
Yes, if you know an eligible project in a member country of the Council of Europe, we invite
you to nominate it. This process only takes a few minutes.
What projects can be nominated?
Projects can be nominated in ten categories: Community, Democracy, Digitalisation,
Ecology, Economy, Education, Human Rights, Quality of Life, Regional
Development and Coping with Covid-19. The projects must be innovative and meet at least one of the following
additional criteria: Participation, Building Trust, and Sustainability.
What are the formal criteria for a project to be accepted?
● It must have taken place in a member country of the Council of Europe (CoE).
● A politician or a group of politicians must have played a key role in making it possible.
● It must have been financed (at least partially) by public funds.
● It must have had a substantial impact on the lives of people in a CoE member country (no
pure communication campaigns or events, no scientific studies, and no projects at the
planning stage).
● It must be in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
What information must I provide?
-Your name and contact details
– The project title and a brief description
– A link to the project website
– The name and contact details of the politician responsible (if known)
What happens after the nomination?
You will receive a confirmation that we have received your nomination. We will then invite the
politician in question to submit the project. If he or she decides to do so, we will inform you that
the project you nominated has been officially submitted.
Submissions
Can I submit a project?
Only the “project owner”, i.e. the politician (or politicians) behind a project, can officially submit
it to the Awards competition. If that applies to you and your project fulfils the criteria, we invite
you to submit it.
What projects can be submitted?
Projects can be submitted in ten categories: Community, Democracy, Digitalisation,
Ecology, Economy, Education, Human Rights, Quality of Life, Regional
Development and Coping with Covid-19. The projects must be innovative and meet at least one of the following
additional criteria: Participation, Building Trust, and Sustainability.
What are the formal criteria for a project to be accepted?
● It must have taken place in a member country of the Council of Europe (CoE).
● A politician or a group of politicians must have played a key role in making it possible.
● It must have been financed (at least partially) by public funds.
● It must have had a substantial impact on the lives of people in a CoE member country (no
pure communication campaigns or events, no scientific studies, and no projects at the
planning stage).
● It must be in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
What are the substantial criteria for evaluation?
● The most important criterion is innovation. The project must break new ground while meeting
a challenge in its sphere of influence (municipality, region or country). The innovation does not
need to be a “world first”. What counts is a new approach in the country or region where the
project was realised, and skillful adaptation to the local culture and needs.
● For scoring, innovation counts for 50 % of the total.
The project must also meet at least one of the following two criterias which each account for
25% of the overall score:
– Participation. Motivating citizens to participate extensively in the project, bringing together
people with different backgrounds or political views
– Sustainability. Creating lasting and sustainable improvements in people’s lives and
producing high output in relation to the financial input
Is there a submission fee?
No, submissions are free of charge.
How do I submit a project?
You can enter your project using the online form, which guides you through the whole
submission process.
How many projects can I submit?
You can submit up to three projects per politician/“project owner”.
What languages can I use?
The standard language is English. This is the language in which your submission will be
presented to the international jury. However, you can submit projects in any European
language. Submissions in other languages are translated (free of charge for you) by a
certified translation office.
What information must I provide?
● Submissions must contain the following information:
– Project owner’s name, political office, contact details
– Country (region, city)
– Contact person for queries (if other than the submitter)
– Title of project
– Summary description
– Accordance with formal Awards criteria
● A description how your project meets the four substantial criteria.
● Category in which the project is to be entered (and an optional second category)
● Supplementary information (optional, in English only)
– Charts
– Video
– Audio
– Photos
– Links to websites and social media sites (if no registration required)
What happens after the submission?
● You will receive a confirmation that we have received your submission. In case relevant
information is missing, we will contact you and ask for additional details.
● If your submission is in a language other than English, it will be translated (free of charge for
you) by a certified translation office.
● Submissions in English are then put before an expert group to be checked against the formal
project criteria (see above). The expert group may ask the submitter for additional information.
● The expert group excludes projects which do not meet one or more of the formal criteria. In
such cases the submitter will be notified of the exclusion. The expert group’s decision is final.
Jury application and selection
Can I become a juror?
If you are a resident of one of the member countries of the Council of Europe, and have
reached the legal age applicable in your country, you are welcome to apply to become a juror.
If selected, you will evaluate a number of exciting political projects from different parts of
Europe.
All evaluations will be carried out online. In order to evaluate the submitted projects, you must
have advanced reading skills in English.
How can I apply?
Please use the “Become a Juror” online application form. You will be guided through the
application process.
What information must I provide?
You will be asked to provide the following information:
– Your full name
– A validated e-mail address
– Your full address and country of residence
How are the jurors selected?
1,000 jurors will be selected by the Awards office. They will reflect the composition and
diversity of the European population, in terms of sex, age and place of residence.
Do jurors receive compensation?
Jurors are not paid, but all jurors will take part in a raffle. Ten jurors will be invited to the gala
(date and venue to be announced soon) as our guests, including travel expenses and
accommodation.
What happens after the application?
You will receive a confirmation that we have received your application.
If you are selected as a juror, we will inform you and provide you with information about the
timeline, the project evaluation process and your duties as a juror.
Applicants who are not selected will also be notified. Depending on the number of applications,
unsuccessful applicants may be contacted to become a juror the following year.
Project evaluation process
How does project evaluation take place?
● The jury evaluates all projects online using a secure intranet voting platform. For this purpose,
an online account is created by the Awards office for each juror. Jurors are provided with
access codes and instructions on using the account.
● When they log in for the first time, each jury member will be informed of the basic rules and
criteria, and must accept these terms before proceeding.
● Each juror is assigned (at random) a maximum of 15 projects to evaluate. Projects from a
juror’s own country are not included.
● Jurors evaluate each project separately according to the evaluation criteria outlined above,
using a scale of 0 to 9 points for each criterion.
● When the evaluation of a project is completed, the juror is prompted to submit the result,
which cannot be changed after submission.
● After all scores have been received, they are tallied up and the winners and finalists are
determined using an automated electronic system.
How are the projects assigned to the jurors?
Each juror is assigned a maximum of 15 projects to evaluate. This happens at random, and
does not include projects from a juror’s own country.
How are the winners selected and how many are there?
● Jurors evaluate each project separately according to the evaluation criteria outlined above,
and using a scale of 0 to 9 points for each criterion.
● After all scores have been received, they are tallied up and the winners and finalists are
determined using an automated electronic system.
● The ten entries with the highest scores in each of the ten categories will automatically
become finalists. The owners of these projects will be invited to the Awards ceremony (date
and venue to be announced soon).
● The highest-scoring project in each of the ten categories will be the category winner and will
receive a trophy.
Prizes and Awards ceremony
What are the prizes?
● The ten entries with the highest scores in each of the ten categories will automatically
become finalists. The owners of these projects will be invited to the Award ceremony (date and
venue to be announced soon).
● The highest-scoring project in each of the ten categories will be the category winner and will
be presented with the Innovation in Politics Awards 2021 trophy.
When and where are the prizes presented?
The Awards ceremony for The Innovation in Politics Awards 2021 will take place at a
date and venue to be announced.
Can I attend the Award ceremony?
Attendance is by invitation only. The finalists in each of the ten Awards categories will be
invited to attend the ceremony.
Is there a fee for attending?
No, although attendees will be expected to cover their own travel and accommodation
expenses.
When will the winners be announced?
The finalists will be announced after the project evaluation process is completed, and in
advance of the Awards ceremony. The winners (who receive the top score in each category)
will only be announced at the ceremony.
Legal issues
Am I responsible for securing the publication rights for submitted materials?
Yes, definitely. We are unable to check who owns the rights to thousands of items submitted
from all over Europe.
If you send us materials where there are potential copyright issues (this concerns mainly
audio-visuals), please be sure to ascertain whether they are free for publication (see also the
Terms and Conditions).
This does not apply to links to websites.
Do I have to transfer all rights to submitted materials?
We require all publication rights for non-commercial use in connection with organising and
marketing the Awards. For details, please check the Terms and Conditions.
Am I responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in submissions?
● Yes, it is your responsibility as a submitter to provide accurate information. As neither we, the
Awards organisers, nor the jurors can independently verify the information contained in project
submissions.
● We reserve the right to delete any offending materials and to remove any entries found to be
fraudulent or grossly inaccurate from the competition.
● Furthermore, if at a later date a submission is found to contain grossly inaccurate or
misleading information, or to infringe upon the legal rights of third parties, we reserve the right
to revoke any distinction conferred on the project.
What happens if there is a technical fault when I am using the Awards website?
● We will make every reasonable effort to offer all users a properly functioning Awards website,
and secure and reliable processing of submissions, applications for the jury and the project
evaluation procedure. However, we can offer no warranty and accept no liability for the
functioning and technical integrity of the Awards website or any of the processes mentioned
above.
● Please inform us immediately in case of technical problems. We will do our best to rectify them
as quickly as possible.
● For further details please check the Terms and Conditions.
How will the data I submit be protected?
● We will keep all personal data submitted with project entries, jury applications and other
communications confidential, and will not share such information with any third parties.
● Personal data will be stored in secure databases, in accordance with Austrian/EU data
protection regulations, and will only be used in connection with The Innovation in Politics
Awards and related activities.
● If any communication beyond the Awards is be envisaged, we will contact each individual
concerned to obtain their permission.