The Challenge jury begins its work two weeks after the award closes for entries. Before the projects are handed to the jury, the staff checks each project for completeness and to ensure that the answers are in English. This is a purely mechanical process which ensures that the jury has adequate materials to base their judgments on.
All projects are evaluated by at least three jurors and the most interesting projects in each category are selected as finalists. The finalists should expect that the jurors may ask for more information about the projects, before the final selection of the winners. The Finalists are selected and all projects are then notified about their standings in the award by October 1 2010.
Teams of Jurors evaluate each project
Each project category is given a team of jurors dedicated to that particular field. The jury groups then recheck the entries for adequacy, for example that there is enough information provided to make an evaluation, and then marks the entry on a scale of 1-10 against the criteria. Jurors may also comment on some aspects of the entry, although not all entries will receive comments. They may also request further information about a project.
A list of finalists is drawn from those with the highest scores and. As a Stockholm Challenge 2010 Finalist, you become part of an elite group of social and technology entrepreneurs who have become Challenge finalists over the years. This group can be up to 20% of the entries that make it to the jury round.
Making the final distinctions
When the marks are totaled, the jury reviews the top few entries to decide whether the differences in marks are sufficient to validate a winner. If the marks are close, they will review the top few entries to distinguish the winner from its close peers. If the decision is very close, it will be made by discussion and debate until the jurors reach a consensus. If they are still unable to reach a decision, the “Core Jury”, which consists of the jury co-ordinators of all the categories is asked to review those entries that have proved too close to call and to make the final decision.
In addition, every project is asked for contact details with at least three independent referees who are not directly associated with the project. The referees are contacted at the beginning of the process to verify their willingness to take that role and asked for their input once the entries are closed to ensure that they are supporting an entry in the same form that is seen by the jury.