Each year, The Buckminster Fuller Institute invites scientists, entrepreneurs, planners, designers, architects, activists, artists, and students from all over the world to submit their innovative solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing problems. A $100,000 prize is awarded to support the development and implementation of one outstanding strategy.
Each year, The Buckminster Fuller Institute invites scientists, entrepreneurs, planners, designers, architects, activists, artists, and students from all over the world to submit their innovative solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing problems. A $100,000 prize is awarded to support the development and implementation of one outstanding strategy.
Criteria
Winning the Fuller Challenge requires more than a stand-alone idea or innovation. BFI looks for whole-system solutions that both demonstrate a clear grasp of the ‘big-picture’ and focus on a well-defined need of critical importance. If, for example, your proposal emphasizes a new design, material, process, service, tool or technology, it is essential that it be part of an integrated strategy that simultaneously addresses key social, environmental, and economic factors.
Entries must therefore meet the following criteria:
- Visionary – put forth an original idea or synthesize existing ideas into a new strategy that creatively addresses a critical need
- Comprehensive – apply a whole-system approach to all facets of the design and implementation process and aim to simultaneously address multiple goals, requirements and conditions
- Anticipatory – factor in critical future trends and needs as well as the projected impacts of a project’s implementation in the short and long term
- Ecologically Responsible – reflect nature’s underlying principles while enhancing the Earth’s life support systems
- Feasible – and demonstrate proof of concept, and relies on existing technology and/or provable science; have a solid team and/or demonstrate a convincing capacity to implement the project
- Verifiable – able to withstand rigorous empirical testing and pro- vide evidence for potential or actual positive impacts; claims made must be authentic
- Replicable – able to scale and be widely adapted to similar conditions elsewhere
The grand prize
Each year, a $100,000 prize is awarded to support the ongoing development and implementation of one outstanding design solution. The winning individual or team is celebrated at a Conferring Ceremony in New York City and, along with a check for $100,000, receives the prestigious OmniOculi award sculpture created for The Fuller Challenge.
The winners of the Challenge also receive all of the benefits of Catalyst Program.
More information at The Buckminster Fuller Institute challenge 2016