iF Social Impact Prize

Program description

The iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE supports projects that contribute to improving our society. If you work towards achieving one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (1-15), your project is eligible. The best projects will be honored with a total prize money of EUR 100,000 per year.

You are welcome to submit all projects that contribute to solving the most urgent challenges of our time and help to improve conditions – your CSR projects or your active support for a specific aspect of society. The project should already be implemented. The size of the project does not really matter but the idea, the relevance of the problem, the target groups and the sustainable impact will be of interest.

Social projects supported by the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE will be

• published on iF Design Website
• introduced to a global design community, the design interested public and media

Institution

iF International Forum Design GmbH

Founded in 1953 as Die Gute Industrieform e.V., iF Design and the iF DESIGN AWARD have been a symbol of excellent design around the world ever since. Every year, an international jury panel of 100 independent experts honors achievements in product, packaging, communication and service design, architecture and interior architecture as well as professional concept, UX and UI.

iF Design also contributes to the international design community by organizing the iF DESIGN STUDENT AWARD for young designers and the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE for social projects.

Deadline

The iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE will be decided twice a year.
Deadline for the first selection: 24 April 2024
Deadline for the second selection: 13 September 2024

Please visit the website regularly to get informed on new deadlines and the continuation of this prize on 2025.

Funding criteria

Companies, design studios, NGOs, foundations, public and other organizations, social enterprises and entrepreneurs worldwide are welcome to submit.

The prize money of EUR 100,000 will be donated by iF. It can be awarded to one or split between several projects. A jury panel will decide the projects supported and divide up the prize money.

Additional conditions

Participation is free of charge. You can apply with the same project a maximum of two times. Student concepts will not be accepted.

Expenses for (commercial)

Entrepreneurial salary/stipend/award money or similar

Funding focuses on

Sustainability, Social impact, Cross Innovation, Non-technological innovation, Technological innovation

Stage of the company/self-employment

up to 1 year after founding, up to 2 years after founding, up to 3 years after founding, up to 5 years after founding, up to 7 years after founding, existing company

Company Sizes

solo self-employed/one-man business, micro enterprise, small enterprise, medium-sized enterprise, large enterprise/corporation

Application type

Registration in advance, electronic application system

Application procedure/documents

Two steps to participate:

1. Login into my iF or create a free iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE account.
2. Enter your entry data and register

• Fill in the basics.
• Upload two pictures, enter a short entry description and add initiator as well as partner address.
• Click on “Publish your project” to finalize the participation.

All data of the application should be written in English so that the international jury can access and judge it.

After a brief content check you will receive a short confirmation. If everything is okay, your project will automatically compete for the prize.

Jury/Decision-making body

These five criteria will be used by the jurors to give scores to individual aspects of each entry:

• Problem-solving
• Moral-ethical standards
• Solidarity
• Reasonable effort
• Beneficial experiences

The international Jury Panel is published here.

Assistance/Downloads

Explore already supported projects here.

Download the Overview (pdf).

Here you can learn more about how social impact and design are interconnected and how they complement each other.

Funding area

World

Funding source of the institution

company, other