This document contains an application form for a social entrepreneurship award. The form requests information about the applicant's proposed social enterprise project, including a description of the problem being solved, current solutions, the applicant's solution, potential customers and market size, costs and pricing, progress developing the venture so far, challenges, milestones, and personal learning goals. It provides word count limits and suggestions for the type of information to include in each section. The purpose is to help applicants comprehensively describe their project and its viability for consideration for award funding.

1. Application Form

2. If you are reading this, well done you have decided to take the plunge and enter the competition.. I
wish you every success.
The following slides simply expand upon the requirements in the application form which you fill in
online.
Once that’s done we identify a short list of presenters for a panel of judges and determine the
winners.
The application form mirrors some of the process anyone might take to get to the bottom of
whether their idea for a working enterprise, social or otherwise, has a real chance of success.
It’s a starting point and win or lose( because it is a competition in the end) you may find that you
need to do more work to move forward. So everything you do here isn’t wasted, win or lose..It’s just
the start.
Good luck.
Paul Jordan
Competition Co Coordinator
Sussex Innovation Centre
paulj@sinc.co.uk

4. Award Criteria for Social Enterprise
• students, staff or recent graduates (graduated within 1 year)
• over the age of 16
• living in the UK for the duration of the project
• who are individuals or part of an informal group

5. Award Criteria for Social Enterprise
Projects must:
• benefit the public or a community in the UK
• demonstrate a connection to the Higher Education Sector
• need a HE Social Entrepreneurship Award to ensure their success
• offer a learning opportunity for the applicant(s)
• be a new initiative – not a continuation of ongoing operations
• not be part of the applicant’s paid employment
• be an entrepreneurial solution to a social problem
• instigate social impact or social change
• not be for activities outside the law, against public policy or anything
that fosters ethnic, religious or commercial disharmony

6. Your Vision; Please describe your business/ project
when it’s successful.
100 words Max.
Suggestions:
• Description of the finished product or service
• How will customers discover the product or service
• Who is using it
• When and how will revenue and profit be generated
• How will it be delivered and who is involved

7. What is/ are the problem/problems you are solving?
100 words Max.
Suggestions;
• What job are people trying to get done
• How big is the problem
• Why do people care about the problem,
• What's the pain suffered/ difficulty experienced
• What have you done to understand the problem

8. What are the current solutions?
50 Words Max.
Suggestions:
• What is the current solution
• What are the major failings
• Who delivers the solution
• How many deliver solutions
• Is the solution part of something else- over
developed/expensive

9. What is your solution?
100 Words Max.
Suggestions:
• How does your solution solve the problem
• How easy is it to use will it change behaviour
• Do you offer the whole solution
• What are the unique features and benefits
• Why hasn’t anyone found a solution before

10. Potential customers & market? What is the potential
demand.
50 Words Max.
Suggestions:
• Whose a typical customer and who will buy it first.
• How big is the market now and likely in 5 years
• How do they buy the current solution, will that be the
same for you
• Is there a lot of competition in the market, who
dominates the market
• Is the market growing, is it a global opportunity

11. What costs? What pricing? What finance? Any
evidence available
50 Words Max.
Suggestions:
• What will it cost to make and sell. What is the profit on
each sale
• What will you charge and why.
• How many will you sell and when will you start selling
• How much money will you need to start the business
• What will you use the award for

12. How far have you come in terms of developing the
proposed venture?
50 Words Max.
Suggestions:
• Concept / prototype/ Does it work
• What research has been done or is needed to complete
the project. cost?
• Who have you asked for help; technical/customers/
buyers/sellers
• Is this the complete offering or first feature of a larger
offering
• What other funding have you explored

13. What are the challenges/barriers to success? Identify
key milestones
50 Words Max.
Suggestions;
• Money needed to deliver the first sale
• Market knowledge
• Personal skills
• Time
• A working product or service

14. Please outline personal learning and development that
you hope to gain from this project
50 Words Max.
Suggestions
• How to skills
• Skills needed as an entrepreneur
• Personal strengths and weaknesses
• Team building
• Creative problem solving

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 http://www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/newsandevents/startupsuss
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