The Irish Business Design Challenge (“the Competition”) is an initiative of Design & Crafts Council Ireland (“DCCI”).

Deadline

In 2023, the deadline for submissions for the Competition was 12 February 2023.

Enterprises

The Competition is open to micro, small and medium enterprises in Ireland. For the purpose of this competition:

• Micro enterprises refer to enterprises that have 10 employees or fewer
• Small enterprises refer to enterprises that have 10 – 50 employees
• Medium enterprises refer to enterprises that have 50 – 250 employees

Tax compliance

Applicants must be tax compliant and in business for at least 6 months on the deadline set out above.

All entries must:

1. Clearly reflect the application of sustainable design practices or principles as defined in the scoring framework.
2. Demonstrate that their business has met the following eligibility criteria through the application of sustainable design

The application of sustainable design can be demonstrated if you have:

• Changed your business model to add value and benefit your customers, communities or society at large
• Repurposed or redesigned your products or services according to sustainable design principles
• Developed new processes or partnerships to meet current and future needs
• Discovered new ways of working that help you to become more efficient
• Invented innovative and meaningful solutions to a perceived societal or environmental problem

Entries must also clearly reflect the application of sustainable design practices or principles as defined in the scoring framework.

The final application must include:

• A summary of your business, including a short elevator pitch to the public voters and the judging panel, outlining:
  • the challenge or opportunity you identified
  • the sustainable design strategy you applied to solve the problem
  • the sustainable solution you developed
• Complete in detail 4 questions as set out in the application form in line with the criteria as set out in the scoring framework
• A minimum of 3 images per entry in jpeg, pdf or png format

Submitted products/solutions must:

Be original and may not infringe on the rights of a third party

By entering this Competition, the entrant confirms that:

• Their Competition submission and accompanying materials are original works (with any third-party source imagery and/or material being indicated at the time of entry), are not defamatory and do not infringe third-party rights
• There are no conflicting agreements in place that restrict usage of the submission and accompanying materials
• They have consent to use any third-party imagery and/or materials in their submission, and any accompanying materials and rights have been waived for that use
• If a third-party image is of a person under 18 years of age, parental or guardian consent has been provided to the entrant
• If they submit any third-party personal data, they have obtained and shall maintain the consent of the data subject
• They will produce evidence of any required consents at DCCI’s request or risk being disqualified from the Competition

Finalists will be required to:

• Participate in promotional events relating to this competition, including photocalls and press releases
• Participate in a minimum of 3 promotional events for future competitions, including but not limited to, photocalls, interviews, focus groups, and webinars

Competition submission

Entries may only be submitted via the Competition web page. Entries submitted by post or email will not be accepted.

Multiple entries

Entrants may submit as many entries as they wish, provided they complete an entry form for each submission, submit all required supporting materials in the specified formats, and comply fully with these terms and conditions.

Submission rejection

DCCI reserves the right to reject submissions received that are not of sufficient quality, have not met the eligibility criteria or infringe on the rights of any third party.

The judging process works as follows:

• All entries will be screened to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria as defined in the terms and condition
• The public will be invited to vote on completed and screened entries
• Businesses that receive the most public votes will be shortlisted as finalists
• Shortlisted entries will be reviewed by an independent expert panel of judges to select the competition finalists (winner, runner up and highly commended) from each category
• The judging is based on set evaluation criteria as described in the scoring framework, based on innovation, impact, resilience and alignment with sustainable design principles
• The finalists will undergo due diligence checks through an independent auditor before the final announcements at the IBDC awards event

Jury selection

DCCI and its Competition Advisory Committee will select and manage the Competition’s expert jury.

Jury decisions

The decisions of the expert panel of judges in relation to the Competition are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Canvassing

Canvassing may render an entrant liable to disqualification from the Competition.

The Prize Fund

The Irish Business Design Challenge prize fund has a total maximum value of €50,000. Winners and runners-up in the competition will share in this total prize fund according to the following breakdown:

• Winners will receive a prize of €15,000. They will also receive support in kind through social media posts on DCCI channels, participation in event photocalls and media interviews.
• Runners-up will receive a prize of €2,000. They will also receive support in kind through social media posts on DCCI channels. They may also have opportunities to participate in event photocalls and media interviews.
• Highly Commended Entries will receive business mentoring to help to develop their concept further. They will also receive support in kind through social media posts on DCCI channels. They may also have opportunities to participate in event photocalls and media interviews.

Intellectual property of Competition submissions

All ownership and intellectual property in a Competition submission and any accompanying materials remain with the entrant and/or any third party licensor.

By entering this Competition, the entrant grants DCCI permission to use, publish, publicly display, promote and reproduce the competition submission and/or any accompanying materials in whole or in part, individually or in conjunction with other materials, including without limitation, text, photographs or images, in any manner or media, for any purpose (including for promotional and research purposes), in perpetuity.

The entrant acknowledges that no fee is payable by DCCI for the rights granted under this clause.

Competition cancellation or suspension

DCCI reserves the right to cancel, modify or suspend the Competition for any reason at any time.

DCCI is not responsible for:

• Incorrect or inaccurate transcription of entry information or late, lost, stolen, illegible, incomplete, misdirected entries or entries received through impermissible channels, all of which will be disqualified
• Technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any telephone, computer, network, hardware or software; the unavailability or inaccessibility of any website or service
• An electronic or human error which may occur in the administration of the Competition

Claims against Design & Crafts Council Ireland

Entrants indemnify the Design & Crafts Council Ireland from any and all claims, demands or clauses of actions that they may hereafter have by reason of anything relating to entering or participating in the Competition.

The processing of personal data

DCCI will only process personal data provided by an entrant for the purpose of conducting and promoting this Competition.

Further details on how such personal data will be used by DCCI are set out in the Irish Business Design Challenge Privacy Policy.

If you submit any third-party personal data as part of your Competition submission, it is your responsibility to obtain and maintain the consent of the data subject, and we may ask you to provide evidence of this.

By entering the Irish Business Design Challenge Competition, the entrant agrees to participate in public relations activity without further compensation other than the prize in the case of the winner.

Time periods to hold Competition data

DCCI will hold the data submitted to the Irish Business Design Challenge for the following periods:

• Unsuccessful entries: data will be held for one year for the purpose of capturing feedback through an anonymous survey
• Competition Finalists: data will be held for 3 years for the purpose of feedback and participation in IBDC promotional events

Entrant agreement to terms

Entrants agree to all the terms, clauses and conditions of the programme by submitting their entry via the Irish Business Design Challenge online entry form.

Failure to adhere to these terms

Submissions failing any of the requirements outlined in these terms and conditions will be excluded from the Irish Business Design Challenge.