After six months of hard work, we've reached the Grand Finale: 18 finalists are in the running for 4 hefty grants. Who gets your vote?
Want to lend a hand? Get in touch with the Project Champion.
Have some equipment to donate or share? There is a Project Champion in need.
Have some special skills? Give advice to the Project Champion.
Have resources to fund a project? Donate and help Spark the Rise today.
You can vote for each project (Spark) once during each voting period. You have an unlimited number of votes, so you can support as many Sparks as you like. Feel free to vote for your own Spark too!
Each month, new Sparks can be submitted in the following categories. Pick the category that fits your Spark best. If you find your Spark falls under more than one, you can select up to two categories. So if your Spark is about using new technologies to generate electricity from rice husks, you can choose both "Technology" and "Energy."
Each month, 8 Sparks will receive grants of 4 lakh each. In total, 48 Sparks will receive 1.92 crore over the course of 6 months. Five of these monthly winners will be selected by public vote. Of these, the 2 most-voted will be eligible to participate in the Grand Finale.
The remaining three winners will be selected by an expert jury. Meet the jury here.
During the month of March, 18 finalists are in the running for four large grants from Mahindra. Three runners-up will receive Rs 20 lakh each and one first-place winner will receive Rs 40 lakh.
From 2-15 March, you can vote for the projects you think can drive the most positive change in India.
The winning projects will be selected by a combination of jury and public vote—70% weighted on the jury, and 30% on public vote.
Promote your idea, browse other brainwaves, and join each other's projects.
Every month, new projects will be put up for public vote.
Anyone can register to follow and vote on Sparks and weigh in on the discussion board. To enter a Spark, individuals must be at least 18 years old, legal residents of India who have lived in India for the full calendar year leading up to the submission of their application, and currently live in India at the time of submitting their application. Institutions, organisations, and companies registered in India are also eligible. Visit the FAQ page for more details.
How can you evaluate the strength of an idea? We suggest that you use the following framework both when you are creating your own projects and evaluating others:
The jury will use these three points to make their decisions. However, public vote means that voters may not they are free to evaluate projects as they choose. And remember, even if your Spark is not chosen to receive a grant, you can use Spark the Rise as a platform to attract volunteers and donations.
| Round | Submissions | Voting | Results |
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Up to 10th Sep 2011 11:59:59 PM IST | 12/09/2011 - 30/09/2011 | 01/10/2011 |
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Up to 30th Sep 2011 11:59:59 PM IST | 01/10/2011 - 31/10/2011 | 03/11/2011 |
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Up to 31st Oct 2011 11:59:59 PM IST | 01/11/2011 - 30/11/2011 | 05/12/2011 |
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Up to 30th Nov 2011 11:59:59 PM IST | 01/12/2011 - 31/12/2011 | 09/01/2012 |
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Up to 30th Dec 2011 11:59:59 PM IST | 02/01/2012 - 31/01/2012 | 07/02/2012 |
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Up to 31st Jan 2012 11:59:59 PM IST | 01/02/2012 - 25/02/2012 | 29/02/2012 |
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02/04/2012 - 15/04/2012 | 20/04/2012 | |
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These experts will be selecting 3 projects a month for a monthly grant, and 6 projects to enter the Grand Finale. Check out the "How to Evaluate Projects" section above to see how they'll make their decisions.
For the Grand Finale, we are introducing Mobile Verification as well as SMS voting for ease of voting!
Find out more by viewing our slideshow here.
Our Official Tabulator and Process Advisor is Ernst & Young.
