Last year was a special edition of the Blue Tulip Awards. After a year of meetings, talks and in-person get-togethers, the finals had to move online due to the sudden COVID-19 outbreak. This year, the competition will be digital from the start: ‘generation 2’ kicks off online, looking for groundbreaking innovations in the themes of Food & Water and Education & Employment. Registration opened today.
‘Greater than ever need for impactful innovation’
“We believe that innovation never stops. New and brilliant ideas often originate in challenging times,” says Frank Rennings. As the Innovation Director at Accenture Netherlands, he is actively involved in the Blue Tulip Awards‘ search for innovation. “Today’s challenges are unprecedented and that the need for impactful innovation is greater than ever.”
“So even though we would have loved to meet our innovators, our juries, our clients and guests in-person to explore and celebrate innovation, I have no doubt that we will find amazing innovations and innovators in the digital program setup. This confidence builds upon the great feedback we received after the all-digital Blue Tulip Awards finals in June 2020.”
Faster, fully digital and driven by purpose
Last year, COVID-19 forced The Blue Tulip Awards to drop their physical event and successfully move to an online set-up. For this new generation, Accenture fully embraces the digital approach and the power of change to create unique and extraordinary value for our clients, people and communities, says Rennings: “To further improve the Blue Tulip Awards program, we took faster time to value, digital-first, and full alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as our guiding principles.”
Faster time to value means the Blue Tulip Awards are no longer a year-long event. Instead, they split the program in three-month competitions, called ‘generations’. Each generation will feature 50 innovations in two different themes to battle for the coveted award. After last years’ success, the organisation has decided to go all-digital, all the way. The programme is designed so that innovators can extract value and compete at a distance, without compromising each others’ wellbeing.
Last but not least, the themes have changed a bit compared to the previous year, to fit in with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Accenture’s Strategy 2025. The judges will be looking for responsible leaders who drive ground-breaking transformations and at the same time place sustainability, equality and security at the core of their innovation.
Food & Water, Education & Employment
“One of the changes in the Blue Tulip Awards program that I am excited about is the increased focus on each theme,” says Rennings. “Shorter timelines and more focus lead to a more concentrated effort to find and celebrate the best startups and innovations. Especially now, collaboration is crucial to create impactful change. Working together with our partners, our clients and the broader ecosystem we are here to enable and accelerate innovations that will make a difference.”
After the year-long ‘first generation’ Blue Tulip Awards in which innovations would simultaneously compete in eight different themes, the second generation is looking for innovation in the themes of Food & Water and Education & Employment. In both, the theme jury’s select 50 innovators for a three month-programme in which they join interactive workshops, pitch their ideas to our expert jury and participate in a hosted talk show on the important trends within their theme. The ultimate prize is a value package from our partners, tailored to the winners’ needs.
Blue Tulip Awards generation 2: registration open now
Registration for generation 2 of the Blue Tulip Awards is open, starting today. So if you have the solution for the answer to any of the complex questions surrounding Food & Water in the world, or know how to solve pressing problems surrounding Education & Employment, this is your chance.
Registration closes on December 11th. The competition will run through January until March next year, after which it is time to move on to generation 3 (in March) and generation 4 (in September), offering new themes that require new innovations.
“The next generation of successful innovations will be the ones who embrace the change,” declares Rennings. “At Accenture, we have full faith in the combination of the promise of technology and human ingenuity. I can’t wait to see and meet the inspiring examples in the Blue Tulip Awards participants.” So if you want to part of the change, go ahead and register your innovation at the Blue Tulip Awards now.