The impact of the EUICTIP project is best evidenced via three interrelated indicators. Namely, did the prize designs result in EC funded inducement prizes? Will these prizes be focused around ‘real world’ problems affecting European citizens? Has the consortium’s activity supported efforts to mainstream the use of the challenge prize methodology within the ICT expert community?
1. Influencing the European Commission's 2016 / 17 Work Programme
The allocation of resources towards proposed prize topic areas provides insight into the relevance of the work undertaken within this project. Of the final eight prize designs, early indications suggest that three of the high-level designs will influence the development of live Horizon 2020 inducement prizes.
2. High impact topics selected as the focus for prize design activity
An important consideration guiding the choice of topics was the extent to which a prize launched in that field had the potential to deliver significant positive impact for the EU. Those prizes now likely to be adopted by the European Commission will be focused around issues set to be of increasing relevance and concern to EU policymakers and citizens.
3. Mainstreaming the challenge methodology
Over the past 14 months, the pool of experts interviewed was both considerable (42 for the first round of prize designs and 70 for the second round, equaling 112 in total) and diverse, with a broad cross-section of EU countries represented in the sample). Many of these interviewees were later brought together - in combination with additional experts - during the nine prize co-design workshops, which facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration around a concrete challenge. Entrepreneurs, academics, writers, designers and representatives from European SMEs were consulted on early drafts of the prize design during these workshops. This consultation and engagement activity had implications for the project’s overall impact. Each interview and workshop involved explication of the inducement prize methodology, the aims of the project and the use of inducement prizes to advance innovation within the Horizon 2020 programme. Consequently, participants who had engaged in the project would have been well-briefed on the concept of inducement prizes and their potential impact in the context of the EU.
