Round 1 Application Packet
Competition Launched April 2020
This is an application packet for the global D-Prize competition. It explains the
completion rules,
process, and instructions on how to draft and submit your proposal.
If you have questions, send an email to the D-Prize team at help@d-prize.org . Good
luck!
. Submission deadline for early decision round: June 1, 2020 at midnight PT
(Pacific Time)
. Regular submission deadline: June 22, 2020 at midnight PT
. Extension deadline (limited to 200 people who register): July 13, 2020 midnight
PT
Register for an extension: www.d-prize.org/extension
Submit Concept Notes and Resumes to: www.d-prize.org/submit
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Competition Rules
Who Should Apply?
You should have enormous ambition, and can imagine yourself as a successful
entrepreneur. You are ready to launch your new venture, and - if a pilot proves
successful
� you are excited to grow it into a world changing organization.
If you are still a student or have existing commitments, you should have a clear
idea how to
transition into a full-time founder.
D-Prize is exclusively interested in ventures that will scale distribution of an
already proven
poverty intervention in the developing world. We do not fund prototypes of
promising new
interventions.
Eligibility
D-Prize challenges are open to anyone or any teams. The sole restriction is that
individuals
and their immediate family on the judging panel may not participate as a
contestant.
D-Prize is also open to any business model (for profit, non-profit, and everything
in
between). All winners will be awarded up to $20,000. The award is offered in the
form of a
convertible grant.
Up to 20 of the most promising proposals will be selected for funding awards,
regardless of
which challenge track was selected.
Submission Policies
. Proposals must be submitted following the instructions in this packet.
. Extra material outside of the proposal will not be considered.
. Revisions to proposals after submission will also not be considered.
. Only one proposal per person or partnership will be considered.
. Proposals must be written in English.
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Deadlines and the Prize Process
Round 1
First Round proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis, using the following
deadlines. We
strive to send decisions out within three weeks. Judges may request additional
information
via email before making a decision.
. Early decision deadline : June 1 , 2020 at midnight PT (Pacific Time). Early
decision
proposals are more likely to advance to the next round.
. Regular deadline : June 22, 2020 at midnight PT.
. Extension deadline : July 13, 2020 at midnight PT. Extensions are limited to the
first
200 people who register at: www.d-prize.org/extension
Round 2
Top entrepreneurs invited to participate in Round 2 will be asked to draft and
submit a full
plan of their venture, roughly 10 pages in length plus any desired appendices. The
plan will
include more details on operations, a budget, milestones, and other items.
Participants will
receive a Round 2 Proposal Packet with full instructions.
Those invited to the Second Round will have about four weeks to submit a plan.
Final Round
Entrepreneurs invited to the Final Round will interview with judges over email and
on the
phone. Depending on the promise and cost-effectiveness of a proposal, judges may
award
up to $20,000 in funding. The average D-Prize award size is $12,000.
Piloting Winning Ventures
Besides direct funding, D-Prize can assist in helping your venture attract future
funding if
the pilot proves successful. We will also provide you access to the D-Prize network
of past
winners, and will do our best to support you in other ways.
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First Round Judging Criteria
Judging Process
All proposals will receive an initial read, and if advanced will receive up to four
additional
independent readings.
We strive to send decisions within four months of your submission. However, this
timeline
may extend based on the volume of submissions, as we want to give every proposal
due
consideration. Judges may request additional information via email before deciding.
Judging Criteria
The D-Prize judging panel is composed of individuals with professional experience
distributing life-changing technologies in the developing world.
Contestants are evaluated based on:
. Passion and potential for candidate�s success, as evident by their academic and
professional background, relevant skills, and quick leadership trajectory.
. Focus on distribution. Proposals must focus on distributing a proven poverty
solution
that needs greater access in the developing world.
. Potential for scale, based on the organizational model proposed in the concept
note
and the entrepreneur�s desire to commit and grow.
Proposal Tips
. Be succinct. Successful proposals are objective and to the point. Orient your
proposal
towards an educated judge who is relatively knowledgeable with the key issues.
. Scale, impact, cost-effectiveness. Successful entrepreneurs will build a
plausible case
that their intervention is highly scalable, cost-effective, and will lead to
enormous
impact.
. Keep within scope. The most successful startups have a narrow focus and avoid
spending resources on too many areas. A tightly scoped idea will perform best in
this
competition.
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First Round Proposal
Concept Note
Please prepare a concept note which responds to the following prompts. Concept
notes
are limited to two pages . We do not read anything submitted that is longer than
two pages.
Our team is already familiar with D-Prize challenge topics at a macro level, so
there is no need to provide a
broad explanation of why this is an important problem to solve. For instance,
including large statistics, such
as the potential global market size, are not necessary.
How does your new organization or venture idea improve distribution of your
selected
intervention? We recommend writing:
- 2-3 sentences summarizing the main activities of your new organization. For
example, you could walk us through step-by-step how you connect a proven
intervention to people in need.
- Bullet points to further explain:
- What are the main barriers that currently prevent people from accessing
your proven intervention, specific to your pilot region? For example, one
common barrier to accessing a product might be a high upfront cost.
- How does your distribution model specifically overcome these barriers?
- What is the most fundamental part of your new organization that you need
to prove will work during this pilot program? (We think the purpose of a
pilot is to test the fundamentals of your business / the basis of your value
proposition on a small scale, and we want to know which part of your
model you will focus on).
What is the expected impact of your work? We recommend writing:
- 1-2 sentences summarizing your marginal impact (ie, the impact you will make
compared to the status quo) at a high level, and at an individual or household
level. For example, your work might reduce the rates of HIV infections by X%
countrywide; and for an individual, could save 7 DALYs (disability adjusted life
years, which is a way to measure the cost effectiveness of a poverty
intervention).
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- Outcome table: Over the next 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years, how many proven
interventions do you plan to distribute? And how many people will you directly
help? We recommend sharing this as a simple table.
- 2-3 sentences summarizing a rough draft of how much money you need for your
pilot program, and what the 3-5 major expenses are expected to be?
- 1 sentence summarizing your long-term vision for the new organization you will
launch.
Who is your team? We recommend:
- A Table that lists:
- All of the people on your team
- Their job title responsibilities
- Their location during the pilot
- Any other professional commitments they have during the pilot
- If not local to your operating region, please note any developing country
experience and specifically, any time you�ve spent in the pilot region.
Resumes / CVs
Please include a resume for each person on your team, limited to one page per
person .
Resumes should highlight the most relevant past leadership roles and
accomplishments.
Additional Information
Custom Challenge: are you submitting to a Custom Challenge category? If so:
. When submitting, we will ask you to provide a URL link us to one website with
credible evidence that supports your intervention.
. We also recommend you include 1 additional page elaborating on your
intervention, and citing evidence that it is proven and in need of greater
distribution.
Existing organizations: has your organization already launched? If so, we will ask
you to
include a summary of your activities since launching, and your current budget /
income
statement in the submission webform.
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Ready to Apply?
Proposal Instructions
. Prepare your concept note and resume(s), and clearly name your files. Concept
notes
and resumes can be separate documents. Files must be PDF and are limited to a size
of 4MB each.
. Input your contact details and upload your documents to www.d-prize.org/submit
Questions?
Email the D-Prize team at help@d-prize.org .
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