Idea contest - Civic Innovation Platform

With our CIP idea contest" AI is what we make it!", we support both financially and ideally the collaborative (further) development of promising ideas for providing benefits for the common good based on social issues and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into viable concepts.

Three rounds of the idea contest were organized in the years 2020 to 2023. We received many promising submissions covering a wide range of different aspects, such as ideas for simplifying language, lifelong learning, applications for more and improved social exchange and supporting administrative authorities. We honored a total of 64 ideas. Here, you can find an overview of all prizewinning ideas and a detailed presentation of the individual milestones of the respective competition rounds under Facts and Figures - Civic Innovation Platform (civic-innovation.de).

A further round of the ideas competition has not yet been scheduled; news on this will be announced here.

At a glance

1. Each round, up to thirty drafts are awarded prize money of up to 20,000 euros. Funds are paid in three instalments and are subject to specific conditions – such as participation an interim presentation.
2. The idea contest is open to a wide range of actors. This includes
   • the development side (developers, start-ups),
   • the user side (municipal authorities, SMEs, administrative bodies) as well as
   • parties who are directly or indirectly affected (trade unions, socio-political organisations/associations, private individuals).
3. Project ideas must have a clearly identifiable link to the activities of the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. This includes aspects such as the future of work, occupational safety and work quality, vocational training and further education, reintegration in the labour market, integration, inclusion, diversity and equal participation. Interdisciplinary and/or cross-sector partnerships are also a prerequisite for participation.

For the purpose of the idea contest, sectors are: Education and research institutions, SMEs and start-ups, Local municipalities, Public institutions, Private individuals, Clubs, associations and non-profit companies (e.g. gGmbh, gUG or gAG in Germany). This means that individual submissions are generally excluded. The combination of private individuals with a start-up or SME is also not eligible to participate; in this case, cooperation with another project partner from another sector would be necessary.