CATALYST X Challenge
The Challenge
Students age 16-25 in teams of up to 5 people develop innovative solutions to social problems. These may be local, national, or international projects. The competition gives students an opportunity to develop a plan to make a real difference by providing the best plans with the resources to implement their plans. Projects must be within the target fields. Funded projects will then be eligible for a second year prize based on their progress.
Quick Links
Resources for Impressive Projects
Most business competitions confer sizable cash awards to a few top winners. This is not our goal. We want to invest in real social innovation, which means that we hope to furnish all elibible competitors with an array of resources and support structures that can help bring their projects to fruition.
Projects will be judged on basic competency requirements and environmental, social, and governance outcomes.
Semifinalists will be selected on the strength of their proposal and will be invited to develop a prototype.
Finalists will be selected based on the strength of their prototype and will be invited to present their solution to a panel of judges.
First Round
In teams of up to 5 students, submit an initial 1000-2000 word (not counting the bibliography) proposal outlining the idea, a description of the problem, the proposed solution, and a feasibility plan. They will submit a pitch deck with a video and written proposal.
Required Content:
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Background: The background should explain how your idea aims to solve an issue or bring benefit to society. Students should first explain the problem in its current context of what exists and then introduce how their idea helps improve or solve the problem.
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Description of Project: Overview of the project’s goals and methods.
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Assessment Metrics: Quantifiable metrics of success to be used in the action plan as well as specific goals for the 1-year mark.
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5-Year Action Plan
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Detailed descriptions of the items in your 5-year plan
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Personnel
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Events
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Targeted population
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Marketing / Awareness Campaigns
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Expected Setbacks
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Expected Resource Needs: Monetary resources and non-monetary resources needed.
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Team roles: Explain each team member’s role during this competition
Additional Requirements
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Visual elements are strongly encouraged
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All research should be cited using APA
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Files should be submitted as PDFs
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Files should be named Group Name_2023_Catalyst X.pdf
Semifinal Round
About 20% of submissions become semi-finalists. At this stage, teams are asked to develop a prototype of their proposed solution and present it to the judges.
Final Round
About 5% of proposals reach the final round. At this level, students give a live presentation of their projects and judges will decide on the best presentations.
Judging Criteria
Category | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Formatting/Style | Not Included | Significant grammatical and formatting errors that distract from comprehension. | Formatting is inconsistent and there are frequent grammatical errors, but it is comprehensible. | Few issues with the bibliography or citations and only 3-5 significant grammatical errors. | No or minimal grammatical issues, citation style is correct and consistent, follows formatting guidelines. |
Feasibility | Not Included | While an attempt is acknowledged, the project seems infeasible. | Project has some degree of feasibility. | Feasibility is explained and seems plausible with extenuating circumstances. | The project is consistently feasible. |
Research | Not Included | Few points are sourced. | Research is present, but may not be up to date or demonstrate a wide understanding. Some claims may be unsupported. | Research is cited but does not represent a comprehensive overview of current problems. All claims sourced. | Pertinent to the issue, presents a comprehensive overview of current problems, and supports all claims using reliable sources. |
Team Roles | Not Included | Only some team members have been listed. | Team members have divided roles but contributions are irrelevant. | Team members’ responsibilities are unequally distributed. | Clearly divided roles and contributions from each member of the team. |
Expected Resource Needs | Not Included | An attempt has been made, but expected content is missing. | Resources are listed with references to how they will be used but it is disorganized and unclear. | A clear overview is presented, but it lacks the deep level of detail needed for execution. | Detailed overview for both monetary and non-monetary resources of what resources will be needed and how resources will be used. |
5-Year Action Plan | Not Included | The five year plan is missing required pieces. | The five year plan has a clear structure but pieces are lacking sufficient detail or appear rushed. | The five year plan contains all required pieces and basic structure, but the depth of each piece could be better. | A cohesive 5-year plan with specific, measurable benchmarks for success and planned actions for each year, with greater detail at the one-year mark. Expected setbacks are clearly noted. |
Assessment Metrics | Not Included | Has written some metrics that are unrelated to the project. | Related metrics but lack specificity in how they are utilized. | Quantifiable metrics exist but their connection to the goals may not be clearly addressed. | Quantifiable metrics for success to be used in the action plan as well as specific goals |
Description of Project | Not Included | Includes a basic description of the proposal but is not clearly stated. | Includes a basic description of the proposal and overall goals but needs additional citations to research or requires additional student analysis. | Includes a description of the proposal, goals, and methodology, and some research or analysis. | Give a comprehensive overview of the program, its intended goals, and broad methodology using credible research. |
Background | Not Included | Is missing a key point of the prompt: overview, current solutions, or gaps. | Demonstrates an attempt to provide a comprehensive overview, but connections between them are lacking, making it difficult to understand. | Gives an overview of the problem, current solutions, and gaps but is lacking depth of analysis. | A comprehensive overview of the problem, current solutions to the problem, and explains gaps in response to the problem. |
Example Topics
Timeline
July 31st Registration Deadline