SwissRe International ReSource Award 2018/2019 for Resilience in Water Management (USD 150 000 Prize)

The International ReSource Award for resilience in water management is a prize acknowledging social entrepreneurial thinking and leadership in implementing the principles of sustainability in water management.

It recognises new approaches for resolving existing issues related to sustainable water management. The prize builds on more than ten years of experience in bestowing the recognised ReSource Award for sustainable watershed management. Every year, an international jury awards USD 150 000 to new social entrepreneurial initiatives driving sustainable water management practices. The award is one concrete initiative of how the Swiss Re Foundation contributes to the advancement of water resilience in low, lower-middle and upper–middle-income countries.

The ReSource Award acknowledges social entrepreneurial initiatives aimed at prototyping or scaling up new approaches for resolving existing social and/or ecological issues related to sustainable water management practices. Examples include access to, use and supply of water, sanitation and hygiene in low, lower-middle and upper-middle-income countries as classified by the World Bank.

Benefits:

• The prize combines financial and non-financial contributions (coaching/expert advice). Half of the total contribution equivalent to USD 150 000 will be allocated to three finalists (USD 20 000 + coaching each) from whom the winner will be selected.
• The award winning organization will be supported (USD 75 000 + coaching) during the following three years in further developing, prototyping or scaling up its social entrepreneurial initiative.

Application Process:

Process

Step I: Short Proposal

Participants are requested to answer the online questionnaire on their social entrepreneurial initiative by 16 March 2018, 24.00 CET. All short proposals received by this due date will be assessed in March and April 2018 by a team of water and business experts based on previously defined criteria (see below).

Only forms completed in English will be accepted. Applicants who are not in a position to submit their application form electronically, should contact the Secretary of ReSource Award.

Step II: Full Proposal

On 16 April 2018, the authors of the best-ranked short proposals will be invited to submit a comprehensive version (full proposal) of their social entrepreneurial initiative online. These full proposals will be reviewed and assessed based on an extended catalogue of predefined criteria. Oral interviews with the applicants on 20 June 2018 will conclude the first round of the assessment.

The four to eight best-ranked full proposals will be evaluated by an international and independent jury that will select three finalists by the end August 2018.

Step III: Finalists

Three finalists will receive financial support (USD 20 000 each) in addition to six months of tailored coaching from experts (amounting to USD 5 000) to help them refine their proposals (October 2018 – March 2019). One representative per finalist will be invited at the end of this period to travel to Zurich, Switzerland, to present their social entrepreneurial initiative to the international jury that will select the winner of the ReSource Award.

The decisions of the jury are final. Any recourse to legal action is hereby explicitly excluded. We will not enter into any correspondence. Swiss law shall apply.

Step IV: Winner

In addition to the USD 20 000 received while a finalist, the winner will be further supported financially (to a total value of USD 75 000, over three years) and non-financially from April 2019 to April 2022 to implement or scale up the winning social entrepreneurial initiative. In all, the winner is supported financially with USD 95 000 and non-financially with specific coaching for up to 3.5 years.

Dates and deadlines