I. Eligibility
The Challenge is open to Contestants (‘Contestant”) from member countries of the World Bank (see: www.worldbank.org/countries). Contestants may be individuals or organizations (profit, non-profit organizations, academic). Contestants are responsible for compliance with legal requirements of their country.
A) Individuals must be of at least 18 years of age at time of entry. Individuals may form teams and submit entries on behalf of teams. Individuals who join teams must meet the eligibility requirements for Individual Contestants.
B) Organizations must be legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) in their respective countries.
C) Staff, contractors and vendors of the World Bank Group (The World Bank Group consists of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the International Finance Corporation, the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.), the members of the Evaluation and Finalist Judging Panel or any company or individual involved with the design, production, execution or distribution of the Challenge and their immediate family members (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children, aunt, uncle, niece and nephew) are not eligible to join the Challenge.
D) Sovereign and sub-sovereign agencies, and intergovernmental agencies are eligible to submit solutions to the Challenge and will be judged along with all of other submissions. However, these agencies are not eligible to receive cash prizes if they are selected as a winning solution.
E) Contestants who are ineligible to receive Bank funds under the Bank’s Anti-Corruption Guidelines, procurement rules, and other rules such as on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism are ineligible to receive cash or any prize under this Challenge.
II. Challenge Submission
1. The Challenge is hosted on MIT Solve platform.
2. Submission Period begins on May 27, 2020 at 9:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) and ends on August 14, 2020 at 11:59 PM EDT (the “Challenge Submission Period”).
3. Submission Requirements:
- Submissions must be in the format provided in the MIT Solve platform.
- Contestants may submit more than one Submission. However, Submissions must not be substantially similar to a prior Submission by the same Contestant.
- Each Submission must be in English, or if in a language other than English, the Submission must be accompanied by an English translation of the full text.
- Submissions which, in the World Bank’s sole determination do any of the following, will be disqualified:
- adversely affect the reputation of the World Bank Group or any of its officials or member countries;
- are illegal under applicable laws;
- depict hatred, defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten a specific person or community in the society or can incite violence or conflict, or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
- contain any infringing, obscene, indecent, or unlawful material or information.
4. Intellectual property rights of Submissions will be owned by the Contestants but must be made available on public licenses that allow re-use without restrictions (for software solutions, use the Mozilla 2.0 or MPL). All submissions will be made publicly available on MIT Solve website and attributed to the individual or organization as its creator and intellectual property right owner.
5. Submissions must a) be original; b) be solely owned by Contestant, who represents that no other party has any rights or interest, whether known or unknown; and 3) Contestant represents that it has obtained the license or permission to use materials owned by third parties granting Contestant the right to use such third party or proprietary materials for the Submission and 4) does not violate the privacy rights of other parties. The World Bank disclaims any liability for violations of privacy, or infringements or other violations of intellectual property rights based on claims of ownership by Contestant; Contestant, by entering the Challenge, agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the Bank against any third-party claims.
6. Once a Submission is submitted to MIT Solve, the Contestant cannot make any changes or alterations to the Submission after the Challenge close date.
7. The World Bank reserves the right to use the winning Submissions. By joining this Challenge, you grant the World Bank a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free right to use the Submissions for promotional, public display, informational, educational or awareness purposes. The Bank may at its sole discretion, decide not to expose any Submission on its website.
III. Display of Submissions
Submissions will be posted on the MIT Solve platform after being screened for basic functionality, accuracy of messaging, and integrity (i.e., security).
IV. Judging Criteria, Screening and Judging Process, Judging Panel
A. Applications will be judged on the following five criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
- Alignment: The solution addresses the challenge that has been set forth.
- Context Appropriateness: The solution takes into account the context of developing countries, including low to no connectivity in some areas and little formal technical training among individuals, as well as low literacy and numeracy levels.
- Scalability and Ease of Use: The solution can easily be scaled to affect the lives of millions of people.
- Feasibility: It is feasible to implement the solution, and the team has a plan for the solution to sustain itself after implementation.
- Innovative Approach: This is a new technology, a new application of a technology, or a new process for solving the challenge.
B. Screening, Evaluation and Judging Process
- Submissions which meet the Eligibility criteria and comply with Submission Requirements will be screened by a Selection Committee composed of international experts, staff members of the World Bank Group and partner organizations. The Selection Committee will shortlist 5-15 Submissions as Finalists.
- The Finalist Submissions will be judged by a Judging Committee composed of globally-recognized experts in digital identification and related fields, including from the ID4D High-Level Advisory Council.
- The Finalists will be invited to Washington, DC to present their Submissions at a high-level event during the World Bank Annual Meetings in October 2020 in Washington, DC , (or alternative event) at the expense of the World Bank. The Judging Committee will select the prize winners at this event.
The winners and prizes will be announced during the World Bank Annual Meetings in October 2020.
Committee members will be determined by the World Bank. The World Bank reserves the right to substitute or modify the Committee members at any time for any reason.
DECISIONS OF THE SCREENING COMMITTEE, EVALUATION COMMITTEE AND JUDGING COMMITTEE ARE FINAL AND NOT SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATIONS OR APPEAL.
V. Awards
Finalists will be invited to a high-level event in Washington, D.C. to present their solutions or ideas in front of distinguished judges. A total of US$150,000 in cash prizes are available.
In the event of a tie, winner will be selected based on the criteria described in Judging Criteria (1), then (2), and finally (3). If there is still a tie then the winner will be selected based on a vote by the Judging Committee.
World Bank retains the right to not select any winners or award any prizes if it so decides.
VI. Verification of Shortlisted Submissions
ALL SHORTLISTED SUBMISSIONS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY The World Bank WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CHALLENGE. Shortlisted Submissions must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. The Shortlisted Applicants will be notified by email, telephone, or mail on or about September 18, 2020. The Shortlisted Applicants will be required to sign and return to the World Bank , within Ten (10) days of the date notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release (except where prohibited) in order to claim his/her prize if selected as a winner. If a Shortlisted Applicant cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period, that Shortlisted Submission will be disqualified and the Screening Committee will Shortlist another Applicant.
By entering this Challenge, Contestant agrees to use only open solutions under a public license to allow for re-use without restrictions. Upon request, Contestant shall within five (5) days submit a written copy of any license or permission Contestant has received from a third party granting contestant the right to use such third party or proprietary materials for the Submission. Contestants understand that in the event a Submission is selected as a winner and Contestant’s ownership rights and the originality of Contestant’s Submission cannot be verified to the satisfaction of the World Bank or is in any other way ineligible, the World Bank shall select an alternate winner based on the same Judging Criteria. The World Bank assumes no liability to third parties for false ownership rights claimed by Contestants.
If after announcing the winners, the World Bank determines that a Contestant has misrepresented, misstated, or mischaracterized its Submission in any way or Contestant is not the rightful owner of the Submission, the Submission is automatically disqualified from the Challenge, and any privileges received by winning this contest shall be rescinded and cash prizes not awarded or forfeited. Any determinations made by the World Bank in withdrawing and disqualifying any Submission will be final and confidential.
Winners are responsible for all applicable taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use. No transfer or substitution of a prize is permitted except by the World Bank. If a team of individuals, a corporation or an organization is selected as a prize winner, the prize will be awarded to the group and it will be up to them to split or appropriately allocate the prize.
VII. Limitations of Liability
The World Bank is not responsible for: (1) any false, incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Contestants or MIT Solve ; (2) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the submission process or the Competition; (3) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Competition or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Contestant’s participation in the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. No more than the stated amount of prizes will be awarded.
VIII. Publicity
Except where prohibited, participation in the Challenge constitutes winners’ consent to the World Bank’s use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without payment or consideration.
IX. No Recourse to Judicial Procedures
In the event that an entrant should disagree with any of these Challenge Rules or any decision made by the World Bank or the Judging Panels, Contestant will have the right to withdraw its Submission. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to any other recourse to judicial procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Challenge are hereby excluded, and Contestant expressly waive any and all such rights. World Bank can cancel the Challenge at any time and for any reason.
X. Preservation of Immunities
Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or a waiver of the privileges and immunities of the World Bank, or any other member of the World Bank Group, which are specifically reserved.
