News | February 25, 2014

On November 1st, 2013 the Global Innovation Competition launched at the Open Government Partnership Summit in London, set to scout the globe for innovations to enhance government transparency and accountability.

A total of 196 entries were deemed eligible and the public were invited to have their say. On January 30, 2014 voting closed and on February 5, 2014 the competition’s 30 semi-finalists, according to the top 26 voted ideas along with 4 wildcards, were announced.

Today we reports that after extensive analysis of data, some irregular voting occurred and there is an adjustment to the previously stated semi-finalists. The outcome of the analysis is that two additional entries, Ghana Petrol Watch and GEM – Going the Extra Mile, will also be invited to participate in the semi-final round.

“We regret that some irregularities have occurred which have forced us to revise the announced list,” says Innovation Programme Manager Mathias Antonsson  .

“The competition is designed with many checks and balances to account for potential ‘gaming’. This first round consisted of a public vote along with ‘wildcards’, the semi-final round consists of a peer review where an independent jury will award wildcards, and in the final round winners will be selected by the jury.

We have learnt many important lessons during this round and will be reviewing our process of public voting for next year’s competition accordingly. We will be looking toward an extended timeline for voting examination, as well as the incorporation of further real-time safeguards.”

Semi-finalists will now begin preparing documentation to commence a peer-review assessment process. Following this, each semi-finalist will review all other entries and rank the idea or proven concept based on methodology, inclusion & collaboration, quality of team/management.

The Global Innovation Competition Jury will soon be announced, consisting of a select group of six experts. They will monitor this process, and also have the ability to appoint ‘wildcards.’

On March 18, 2014 a total of 10 finalists will be announced and invited to attend the Global Innovation Week in Nairobi, Kenya March 31 – April 4, 2014

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