Community Change Makers Competition

Before submitting your entry please read the following entry criteria/terms and conditions:

• All entrants within a group must be current members of staff and/or current students at the University of York.
• All ideas must be new and original, i.e. initiatives/projects that are being, or have already been, delivered at York will not be eligible for this competition.
• Entries can be inspired by existing initiatives at other organisations, but this must be acknowledged and full details provided.
• Individual staff and students can be involved in more than one entry, however we would encourage teams to collaborate where possible and we will limit entries to two per individual.
• Where appropriate, entries that are co-created by groups of staff and students are encouraged and will be looked upon favourably at shortlisting and final judging.
• Entries can address an identified need or gap (see FAQs below), targeting a particular group within our university community, or they can be intersectional by design and benefit the university community as a whole. 
• Entries must demonstrate and outline how they intend to have a positive impact on inclusivity at York within 12 months.
• Shortlisted entries will be required to present a clear Theory of Change (see FAQs) in their final pitch presentation to illustrate how their idea will have a positive impact on inclusivity within the York staff and student community.
• Entries must demonstrate a robust plan for monitoring and evaluation, and each successful entry must provide a report after 12 months/at the end of the initiative.
• Successful entries/initiatives must be delivered (or at least initiated) in the 2023/2024 academic year.
• Individuals named in the competition entries are expected to commit to attending the final presentation on Wednesday 13 December, should their entry be shortlisted, however please see FAQs below for information about what adjustments can be made should you not feel able to present at the final event.
• The judging panel (see above) will select the winning idea and one runner up, and the panel’s decision is final.
• Individuals named in the competition entries are expected to commit to working with the EDI Exchange to develop and deliver the initiative, should it be successful at the final.
• By entering the competition, entrants agree that they will assign full ownership and intellectual property rights of the idea to the University of York. The University will become the owner of the concept and any associated intellectual property rights. As such it will be free to use, reproduce, alter, maintain, modify, reproduce in other formats, commercially exploit and/or handle the idea without any payment to the entrant.
• By entering, entrants agree to their name and ideas being used in any publicity associated with the competition.
• By entering, entrants understand that their personal data submitted as part of an entry will be held securely and used only for the purposes of participating in, administering and judging the competition.

University level equality data can be found here. You can also find out more by reading the University's Access and Participation Plan, which addresses inequalities of opportunity for undergraduate home students.

A Theory of Change is a tool that allows you to talk about and really clearly define a problem, the changes you want to make and how you intend to make the changes. You can find a more detailed description of Theory of Change on the University Wiki.

The Panel will use all of the entry criteria listed above, but will also take a judgement on the potential impact on the staff/student experience, the feasibility of your idea, the originality of your idea and the detail you provide in your submission. You should address as many of these points as possible in your entry form.

We welcome supplementary materials such as images or videos with your submission, although these are not mandatory. You must still complete the main body of the submission form.

If the same (or very similar) ideas are submitted, we will select the submission which demonstrates more effectively the impact of the idea, which is more feasible and which provides a greater level of detail.

Our expectation is that shortlisted candidates will be available to attend the final event, which will comprise pitches to the judging panel and the awards ceremony. However, we recognise that university, family or other commitments might not make this possible. If your idea is shortlisted we will contact you about the event, and will be pleased to discuss what alternative arrangements might be possible.

We understand that not everyone will feel able to or comfortable presenting their idea in front of an audience. We do not want this to put anyone off entering the competition and therefore if this is the case, and if your entry is shortlisted for the final, we will look to make alternative arrangements - for example, recording your presentation in advance. If you have any questions about this element of the process, or want to discuss this in advance of submitting your entry, please just drop us a line at edi-exchange@york.ac.uk