Criteria - Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize

Judging criteria

For the application form we are looking for ideas that have potential. So as you use the judging criteria to guide you, remember you do not need to cover all of the key points, or have all the answers to the questions.

To make things a little easier, focus on the first column for your application – the key points in the second column that are most relevant for helping you answer these questions are highlighted in bold text.

The rest of the judging criteria will be used to judge those who progress to the finalist stage.

What we are looking for at the application stage:	Key points to think about as you develop your idea (in the final stage) :
Innovative use of technology
Is your project an innovative idea that uses technology for good in a new way?	How does your idea use technology in a new way? What makes it stand out? Are there similar ideas for this that already exist? How is yours different from them? You could be improving or adding to something that already exists, or coming up with something completely new.
Impact
Have you clearly explained the problem you are trying to solve? Can you show how your idea will help to solve it?	What theme did you choose? Can you describe the problem you are trying to solve, who it affects and how it affects them? How will your idea help to solve the problem? Why have you chosen to work on this specific problem? Why is your idea needed? Is the purpose of your idea clear? How will you know it is working?
Enterprising
Are you able to explain clearly the steps you would take to turn your idea into a reality? Do you know what you need to do to make or build your tech product of service?	What are the practical steps you would need to take to build or create your idea? What materials, data, or technology do you need? Who will use it, and what would make them want to use it? Who will benefit from it? What would you need to learn or find out? What research or experimentation would you need to do? How much is it likely to cost? What steps would you take to understand people’s needs?
Teamwork
Were you able to work together as a team? Were the contributions and strengths of all team members recognized?	How did you share work and responsibilities across team members? How often did you meet (virtually or in person)? What tools did you use to help collaborate? What did you gain from working together as a team? How did it shape your thinking? What problems, if any, did you need to overcome?
Communications
Do you have a clear plan for marketing and promoting your idea to your target audience?	How will you advertise or market your idea to them? What communication channels will you use to reach them(e.g. newspapers, social media etc)? Who will pay for your idea? (have you identified a target audience?) Why have you chosen these advertising and communication channels? What messages would you use to make people want to buy or use your idea?
Ethics and Security
Have you thought through the ethical and security impacts of your idea and how you would make your idea safe?	Would there be anything potentially harmful or risky to the people using or buying your idea? How would you make sure your idea is safe to use? How could you protect the privacy of the people that would use or buy your idea?

Eligibility criteria

All team members must be between 11-16 years old at the point of entry (12 February 2021)
Teams must be made up of between two and five people
All teams must be represented by an adult as a guardian throughout the challenge, who must be a member of staff at the school or youth group of the team entering
The competition is open to any constituted secondary school or youth group based in the UK
Schools/groups can enter more than one team into the competition

Entry criteria

Judging criteria

Innovative use of technology

Impact

Enterprising

Teamwork

Communications

Ethics and Security

Eligibility criteria