With our Innovation in Politics Awards, we recognise courageous political projects which break new ground and deserve international acknowledgement and replication. In order for you to make the most of your application, we have created a guide for submitting your project with ease.
Who can submit a project to the Innovation in Politics Awards?
Any politician on any level within a Council of Europe member country can submit a project that they are responsible for. People who are not politicians and would like to submit a project that a politician is also involved in, should contact the respective politician and submit the project with them. Several people can submit a project together – only one of them needs to be a politician. (To find out which degree of involvement of the politician is sufficient, please consult our FAQs)
What kind of project should I submit to the Innovation in Politics Awards?
The main objectives of the Awards is to make innovative political projects more visible and inspire others to implement similar projects. So, if you have an innovative project that you think deserves more recognition and should be replicated elsewhere, we encourage you to submit it.
Projects can be submitted in 8 categories: Democracy, Climate Protection, Democracy Technologies, Government Improvement, Social Cohesion, Local Development, Education, and Party Innovation. (Find out more about the Awards categories here)
Lastly, you should have a look at the formal criteria for a project to be submitted.
What should I include in my application?
In our submission form, you will be asked to provide the project owner’s contact information, a project title, a short description, descriptions of how the project meets the evaluation criteria, namely: Innovation, Participation and Sustainability (find out how we define the criteria here).
The short description of the project should cover the following topics (you can write a short paragraph for each of them)
- Motivation: What is the motivation for starting this project? Include a summary of the problem, issue, or situation this initiative is intended to address, and the project’s aims and objectives.
- Actions: Which actions are implemented to achieve the project’s aims?
- Outcomes: What outcomes has the project already achieved, and what are the expected future outcomes?
How will my project be evaluated?
The submissions are evaluated by a jury of at least 1000 European citizens. Each of the jurors receives around twenty projects to evaluate on the three criteria. They can give between 1-9 points for each criterion. At the end of the Jury process the points for innovation count for 50% of the total score and participation and sustainability 25% each.
Are there any tips on writing a good application?
The most important thing is to keep in mind that the application will be read by jurors from across Europe, who most likely have never heard about your project before and do not know your local context. Therefore, it is essential to be as clear as possible in describing your project. It might be useful to actually imagine explaining the project to a stranger from a different country when writing the application.
Can I see some examples of successful projects?
Yes, of course. In our Showroom you can find the projects of the finalists and winners of previous years.
What is the deadline for submitting my project?
You can submit your project until the 15th of November 2022.
And now?
Have you successfully implemented an innovative political project?
You can submit your project here.
Do you know of a political project worthy of a Europe-wide award?
You can nominate someone else’s project here or share this guide with others.
We look forward to receiving your submission!
