Social Innovation Challenge

Oxfam in Pakistan is organizing Social Innovation Challenge 2019 (SIC-2019) to seek innovative solutions from university students to the development challenges faced by Pakistan. SIC-2019 is a unique opportunity for young people studying in different universities of Pakistan to think and incubate ideas that are innovative and effective.

The Social Innovation Challenge will be a one-day event hosted at The National Incubation Center [NIC], Islamabad in which graduating students from the universities in Pakistan will present their ideas and solutions to given problem statements. The problem statements could be derived from:

1. Country Strategy
2. SDGs
3. Keeping any innovation funding call in view.

Students will be asked to come up with solutions in groups and give presentations to a group of panelists. The panel will be comprised of academics, Oxfam staff/technical experts, and other civil society and private sector representatives.

Top 3 selected ideas will be given prizes/awards. After piloting the top three ideas for 6-12 months, Oxfam will reach out to institutional donors, foundations, and corporations for funding and for scale-up.

Eligibility

University students who are enrolled in any public or private university in Pakistan.

Things to remember

• Proposed innovative ideas must cover the themes mentioned above.
• Idea should be original and should not be a copy.
• Applications should be filled using the given proposal format.
• Applications should be sent via email at info@sic-2019.com
• Format of the proposal is available on their website

Problem Statements

There are four problem statements/themes on which the participants will be presenting innovative ideas on any one of the following:

1. Increasing the literacy in Pakistan with special focus on children living in urban slums
2. Addressing water crisis through enhancing the efficiency of water usage in Pakistan
3. Increasing participation of young women in workforce in Pakistan
4. Combating harassment of women at public spaces

The participants will be asked to submit their proposals based on the above themes while clearly explaining the big idea which should be documented in not more than 5 pages. The Proposal Format (Point VII) is also provided for guidance along with their respective marks on each section. The initial selection will be made on the basis of most marks attained and most innovative idea. Top 10 teams succeeding from the initial scrutiny will then be invited to present their ideas in front of the Jury members. After selection of the top three ideas, winners will be announced.

Submission Deadline

The proposal in the soft copy should reach to Oxfam in Pakistan no later than 3rd March 2019 at info@sic-2019.com. For more information, the details are also provided at the reception counter of each university while the students can also look at Oxfam’s FB page for recent updates.

Requirements

• The students are required to submit their ideas in a written form which means that there will be no need to demonstrate the idea in actual form. The idea can be shown in a visual form, an extra (05) marks will be given to those who can show a visualized form of their idea.
• The ideas should be scalable, replicable and sustainable in nature which means that if any idea proposed is not workable/uncertain or not cohesive with the theme will be disqualified. The idea must be reflective of the three elements as mentioned above and being innovative at the same time.
• The students must retain their Valid Student ID Cards and CNIC when coming to Islamabad for the final round. Any student or team who will not have their Valid Student ID cards and CNIC will be disqualified.
• The students must submit their acceptance letter along with their proposal from the University clearly highlighting the team members’ names.
• Submission after the due date will not be accepted.

Selection Criteria

The selection will be done in three Tiers. In the first tier, the scrutiny will be done by the technical team of Oxfam and the shortlisted teams will be announced. In the second tier, the shortlisted teams’ ideas will be examined by the Mentors who will further shortlist the most interesting and innovative ideas. Top 10 OR 20 teams shortlisted by the Mentors will be finally reviewed by the Jury Members. The top 10 OR 20 teams will be presenting their ideas in front of the Jury Members at the main event explaining the concept in detail. The total time allotted to every team will be 5 minutes. Any explanation given after 5 minutes will be considered unless the Jury wants to know more and allot extra time. After the final selection, the top three teams will be announced as winners of the Innovation Challenge.

VII. Proposal Format:

Questions and Answers

Any additional information or questions can be asked and sent to info@sic-2019.com no later than 28th February, 2019. The questions asked in written form will be entertained.