Entry rules

Article 1

The Prize Digital for Development (Prize D4D) rewards outstanding initiatives that use digitization and (new) technologies as a lever for development towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) set by the United Nations.
The prize is awarded in three categories:

Article 2

Everyone with a convincing project or innovative idea on ‘Digital for Development’ can participate. 
Applications can be submitted by individuals, companies, organisations or teams who are for example part of a university, university college, research institution, NGO, private institution, Public-Private Partnership (PPP), etc.
Applications must be recent (max. 3 years before the launch of this edition) or must present an innovative project idea.
Applicants must be Belgians, other EU citizens or people with a right to a permanent residence in Belgium, or from a Belgian university development cooperation partner country (see Art. 3).
Applications must show a clear link with Belgium and with one of the partner countries of the Belgian university development cooperation (see Art. 3).

Article 3

Article 4

In each category Prize D4D nominates 3 applications. Within the nominees the jury will select 1 winner per category, who will receive the following prizes:

• 1 winner in the category ‘iStartUp’ receives an internship in a Belgian or international incubator to the value of 25.000 euro;
• 1 winner in the category ‘iStandOut’: a credit line of 10.000 euro to be used for further (research)activities or the development of the winning project or team (participation in conferences, training courses,etc.);
• 1 winner in the category ‘iChoose’: a cash prize of 5.000 euro.

The remaining 6 nominees will receive a certificate and the opportunity to obtain higher visibility for their project.
Depending on the quantity and quality of the applications, the jury can vary the number of nominees per category.

Article 5

Applicants will be assessed on the basis of applications in Dutch, French or English.
The application must date from 2018, 2019, 2020 or 2021.
A registration form may only be submitted in one category. In the event of multiple applications from the same person, team, company or organization – but for different projects – each application must be registered separately.
Applicants can participate to more than one Prize D4D category, provided that the submitted projects are different. 
Projects or ideas submitted for previous editions of Prize D4D (2018, 2020) can be resubmitted for the 2022 edition provided that the evolution of the idea or project is clearly demonstrated.
For example, an application of an innovative idea ‘iStartUp’ from the 2018 edition may have become a success story in the meantime: therefore, this project could be submitted in the ‘iStandOut’ category of the 2022 edition. This also applies to laureates of previous editions.
The jury reserves all rights to assess the evolution of an idea or project and can take this into account during the evaluation.

Article 6

Regarding the applications from the ‘iStartUp’ and ‘iStandOut’ categories, the evaluation is organised in two phases. In the first phase of the evaluation each application is assessed by two evaluators with expertise in the relevant thematic field. These evaluators will appoint scores based on the predetermined evaluation criteria. If the scores differ significantly, a third opinion is addressed.
In the second phase of the evaluation the jury selects nominees on the basis of the scores granted by the evaluators during the first phase. The nominees from the ‘iStandOut’ and ‘iStartUp’ categories are then invited to present their application to the jury. Regarding the category ‘iStartUp’, applicants will need to present a proof of concept or prototype to the jury. The jury will then appoint a winner for each category (‘iStartUp’ and ‘iStandOut’).
The nominees and the winner of the public award ‘iChoose’ are chosen by the public. By means of an online voting system and upon email confirmation, the public can vote once for one or more submitted projects. The project with the highest score based on the online votes wins. 
The decisions of the jury are sovereign and final.
Legal action against the decisions of the jury is not possible.

Article 7

Applicants must upload the necessary documents online.
The registration form varies per category (‘iStartUp’, ‘iStandOut’, ‘iChoose’). It is important that the form is completed in an accurate manner for the evaluation.
If the submission is a product or an application, the applicants must provide full documentation on the content and operation of the product or application.
Closing of the call for applications is Tuesday March 15, 2022 (5 pm, Brussels time). 

Article 8

Postal address:
Royal Museum for Central Africa
Prize Digital for Development – Prize D4D
Leuvensesteenweg 13
B-3080 Tervuren
Belgium
For more information:
Email: prized4d@africamuseum.be
Website: http://prized4d.africamuseum.be

Article 9

Applicants for the D4D Prize are deemed to have accepted the rules of the D4D Prize as set out in these entry rules.
Applications must be free of offensive content and consistent with the human rights according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
Applications that are found to be (partially) plagiarized will be disqualified.
Applications that are incomplete or fail to satisfy the guidelines of the Prize D4D will be withdrawn from the selection procedure without prior notice. Legal action against the decision of disqualification for the above reasons is not possible.

Article 10

By participating in the Prize D4D, the applicant grants the Royal Museum for Central Africa the exploitation rights for the submitted audio-visual/graphic material, photographs and other content (including photos taken during events in the framework of Prize D4D) for non-commercial use, in particular promotion, printing, events and media.
Applicants must hold copyright to all photographs and audio-visual material related to the production of the submitted project. The software used by applicants must be licensed.

Article 11

The applicants’ personal data will be handled in accordance to the Belgian Law of 30 July 2018. On the basis of this law (on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data) it is ensured that personal data are used and protected with due care, so that citizens' privacy remains safeguarded. The rights and obligations of the individuals whose data are processed, as well as the rights and obligations of those processing the data have been established by that law.

Article 12

The prize D4D will be announced via a dedicated website (http://prizeD4D.africamuseum.be), via Royal Museum for Central Africa’s social media channels (Facebook and Twitter), via the Belgian Development Cooperation’s website and via posters in Belgium and in the partner countries.

Article 13

The award ceremony of the Prize D4D will take place in the Royal Museum for Central Africa in the autumn of 2022.

Article 14

Applicants will receive an acknowledgment of receipt for each submitted project.