Criteria for the Municipal Business Innovation Contest

• The company must be based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.
• The company must conduct its research and development activities in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.
• The company must be operating for two or more years
• The organization can be a for-profit or a not-for-profit business/organization
• The company must have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees.
• The proposed solution must be able to be implemented and completed within one of year of being awarded the prize.
• Prior to the start of the project, the proposed solution must be in market or be developed and about to be launched to the market.
• Respondents can enter more than one project into the contest (each project must be a separate submission)
• The City reserves the right to not award the prize should the submissions not meet the criteria.

 Key High Priority Criteria

• Different or Better: the idea must be an innovation (improvement over existing) or inventive (something new) and be different then what currently exists/is used at the City. It must have an added value over and above what the City is currently using. 
• Delivers Value/ Solves a Problem: your idea must address a specific problem. It must deliver value to the City, with quantifiable positive results.
• Doable / Practical: the proposed solution must be viable given current technologies on the market, must be able to be implemented within a year and demonstrate clear quantifiable value.
• Cost / Benefit: the core of the idea is that it provides value to the City. It solves a problem. If the benefit of the idea is more than the current cost of dealing with the problem – it is impractical. Financial benefits could be immediate, short term or long term.