The selection process
Applications are assessed and scored across several stages, which are outlined below. A more detailed overview of the CivTech process can be found here.
Shortlisting and first interviews
During the first sift the CivTech team and Challenge Sponsors select up to six potential solutions per Challenge to take forward to interview. To do this we use your application form to assess:
How well the idea solves the Challenge
The level of new innovation
The commercial potential of the proposed solution
The applicant’s commitment to the CivTech process and schedule
The second sift whittles these six applicants down to those that will be invited onto the Exploration Stage. Normally we will select three per Challenge — though in exceptional circumstances this might vary. The second sift will be scored based on a 30-minute interview, during which you will have the opportunity to present your proposal and expand on and clarify the original application. The interviews will be carried out remotely via Microsoft Teams.
In addition to further examining the four criteria above, the interview will also be used to understand:
The team’s skills, experience, culture and ethos
Your approach to equality and diversity
Your commitment to environmental sustainability
The CivTech Scorecard clearly sets out the criteria being used to assess all potential solutions and the businesses behind them.
Exploration stage
Up to three potential solution providers per Challenge are selected to take part in the Exploration Stage. This is a contract with CivTech and the Challenge Sponsor, for which each participating team is paid £5,000 (plus VAT if applicable) to work over a three week period.
During this stage teams work closely with their Challenge Sponsor and the CivTech team to develop and refine their potential solution, and further and address any new information that arises. There are a small number of workshops during this stage, some of which are mandatory.
Accelerator Stage
At the end of the Exploration Stage teams will submit a revised written proposal accompanied by a project plan, and take part in a final pitch/interview session — all of which will be used to select one proposed solution per Challenge to be taken through to the Accelerator, for which each participating team is paid £40,000 (plus VAT if applicable) to work over a 15-week period.
The main criteria for the Accelerator Stage:
Assessment of the revised applications
Project plan for the Accelerator
The quality of the pitch/interview session
Other relevant items brought forward for consideration, for example a mock-up of the concept/prototype (if available at that stage)
The combination of the Challenge Sponsor’s sector knowledge along with the CivTech team’s tech and business development expertise provides the basis for informed decision-making.
The scorecard
You can download the scorecard we use to assess all proposed solutions and the teams behind them below. We’ve made it available so you can better understand how we'll be scoring, and the process we’re committed to. Each scoring area correlates to a question on the application form. Please note:
With each question, the criteria for each scoring ‘band' is as clear as we can make it.
The criteria allows for a degree of flexibility so that proposals with positive elements we might not have automatically thought of beforehand can be fairly assessed.
We don’t score the team during the initial sift of written applications.
Stages 2 and 3 are further clarifications of what went before: this means at each stage scores can stay the same, go up, and go down — for example in the case of a promising solution that reveals flaws when developed at the Exploration Stage.