Eligibility & Judging Criteria

Judging Criteria

Up to ten finalists will be picked at the end of the entry phase, and one winner of the grand prize will be picked at the end of the finalist phase.

At both points, the successful teams will be assessed, judged and selected based on five judging criteria by teams of qualified assessors (finalist phase only) and a panel of expert judges.

The judging criteria for the finalist selection are equally weighted at 20%, meaning they are all judged as equally important.

Innovation: Teams should demonstrate how their solution is an innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), compared to what is the current state of the art. This may be innovation in the underlying AI, a novel application of an existing AI approach, or both. (Innovation in the business model, marketing, or service design is not taken into account – these feature in other judging criteria.)

Impact: Teams should explain how their solution will deliver on at least one of the following:

• accelerate the UK’s transition to clean energy technologies at scale
• enable efficient or low-cost operations of clean energy systems
• significantly reduce energy demand, or optimise energy usage

Teams should indicate the speed and scale at which they expect this impact to be achieved, expected impacts by 2030, and anticipated longer-term impacts. Teams are asked to quantify this impact in expected greenhouse gas emissions saved.

Feasibility: The team should show how their scientific and technical approach is appropriate and how the team has the capacity to deliver a working prototype by January 2026.

Long-term viability: Teams should articulate why there is a credible path to adoption (commercial or non-commercial), and what their plan is to pursue it.

Safety, ethics and sustainability: The team should show they are taking action to showcase best practice in developing and deploying safe and ethical AI, and how they are assessing and mitigating risks to environmental sustainability posed by their solution.

Eligibility Criteria

This criteria determines team’s eligibility to apply for the prize – please take a close look and get in touch with us at info@manchesterprize.org if you have any questions.

Eligible entrants: Entries must come from organisations legally incorporated in the UK (e.g. private limited companies, non-profits, charities, universities). We will not accept applications from individuals or unincorporated groups. See here for guidance on how to incorporate. (Incorporation costs around £50 straightforward applications are normally processed within 24 hours, please check the site to confirm your individual needs.)

Geographical scope: The lead entrant organisation must be based in the United Kingdom and must be able to receive funds into a UK bank account in the name of the lead entrant. Organisations other than the lead entrant organisation may be based outside of the UK.

Consortia entries: Teams may enter as a consortium but must nominate one organisation as the lead entrant to submit the application. The lead entrant organisation representing finalist teams will be the organisation that enters into contracts and receives funding from the Manchester Prize.

Previous Manchester Prize finalists: Finalists from the first Manchester Prize are eligible to participate if submitting a new and original solution, which is distinct from their first Manchester Prize submission.

Employees of Challenge Works and DSIT prohibited: Employees of Challenge Works (Nesta, or any company within the same group) or DSIT, and any immediate family of those employees, and any other individuals working on, or connected to, the prize are not eligible to enter.

Conflicts of interest: Any conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest, as more particularly detailed in the terms and conditions, may result in a participant being disqualified from participation. Conflicts of interest must be declared and mitigation agreed with Challenge Works. If you think this may affect you (or any of your partners, if applicable), please contact the team info@manchesterprize.org.uk.

Other considerations

Further to meeting these eligibility criteria, other entrant considerations are as follows:

• Participants (and their partners, if applicable) will be subject to due diligence checks and must pass due diligence checks in order to qualify.
• You must agree to abide by our terms and conditions.
• As more particularly detailed in the prize terms & conditions: the participant must be fully authorised (whether by ownership or licence)to use and exploit all IP rights necessary for the development and deployment of the solution that the participant is submitting for consideration, including both background and foreground IP, and any IP that is owned or licenced by any of the lead entrant’s consortium members. For example, if you are an academic team entering as a newly incorporated company, you will need to ensure that the university has granted rights to their background IP and the foreground IP to you for submission through the Manchester Prize.

Read our terms and conditions before you apply