Earthshot Prize Open to Submissions from Nominating Partners
The UK’s Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge unites people to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges, delivering impact on a range of issues that matter to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and to society. The Royal Foundation is currently running the Earthshot Prize until it becomes its own entity by the end of 2021.
The Earthshot Prize is supported by Global Alliance Partners. These partners, including National Geographic, Greenpeace and One Earth, are non-profit, international organisations committed to the environment and sustainable development. They will bring expertise and global reach, and serve as nominating organisations for every year of the prize.
Designed to incentivise change and help to repair the planet, the Earthshot Prize takes inspiration from President John F Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’, which united millions of people around space exploration and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s. The prize comprises a decade of action to bring together the environmental world with funders, businesses and individuals to maximise impact and take solutions to scale. The aim is to celebrate the people and places driving change and inspire people all over the world to work together to repair the planet.
There are five ‘Earthshots’ that form the prize. Earthshots are simple but ambitious goals for the planet, which, if achieved by 2030, will improve life for everyone and for future generations. The new solutions are expected to work on every level, have a positive effect on environmental change and improve living standards globally, particularly for communities who are most at risk from climate change. The Earthshots are:
Protect and restore nature.
Clean the air.
Revive the oceans.
Build a waste-free world.
Fix the climate.
Each Earthshot is underpinned by scientifically agreed targets including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally recognised measures. The unique set of Earthshot challenges aims to generate new ways of thinking, as well as new technologies, systems, policies and solutions.
Prizes will be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations, including scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks and businesses, who have evidence-based solutions that make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots. Prize recipients may be based in any country.
Over 100 nominating partners from across the world are invited to submit nominations of those individuals, communities, businesses and organisations who could win the Earthshot Prize. Nominators will include the Global Alliance Partners but also academic and non-profit institutions from across the world who have been selected for their ability to identify the most impactful solutions to the Earthshots.
Five £1 million prizes will be awarded each year until 2030, providing at least 50 solutions to the world’s greatest environmental problems within that time. The £1 million prize money will support environmental and conservation projects that are agreed with the winners. Awards ceremonies will take place once a year in different cities across the world. Each winner will receive global media exposure and shortlisted nominees will be given tailored support and opportunities to help scale their work.
Nominating partners from across the world are invited to submit nominations of individuals, communities, businesses and organisations. Nominations opened on 1 November 2020 and will follow a five-step process. The nominations will be screened as part of an independent assessment process run by Deloitte, the prize’s implementation partner.
More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.