The application for the Startup in Residence Sustainability Programme is closed!

 

How to apply?

  1. Fill in the Application Form – you don’t have to finish your application all at once, you can save your answers during the application process.
  2. At question 19 of the application form upload the Uniform Europees Aanbestedingsdocument (UEA). This is the Dutch version of the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). You can download the UEA here. Please make sure you download and open the UEA form in Acrobat Reader and don’t forget to fill in and sign the document before you upload it.* If you don’t understand Dutch, please download the English manual here.
    In the UEA you declare that you meet the general criteria (See ‘Who can apply?’ here below) and the specific criteria per challenge.
  3. Make sure that all information is complete and submit your application!

* Download restrictions for the UEA form:
The PDF can only be used with Acrobat Reader, preferably version 11.05. Only that way, the security and the extrusion functions that are included in the interactive pdf will work. You must save the document directly to your computer and not open it in your browser. After downloading, you can open the document via your computer with Acrobat Reader. If you open and fill in the PDF document directly via a web browser it may cause problems.
Tip: if you have difficulties filling in the form, please just print it right away and fill it in manually (we have heard that the interactive pdf sometimes doesn’t work on Mac computers).

For more information about the programme take a good look at the Tender document Here you can find all the information you need.

Questions?

Please first have a look at our FAQ page. We may already have answered your question there.
If you have other (additional) questions, please send us an email.

Who can apply?

Participation in the Startup in Residence programme is also open to scale-ups (in the starting phase), social enterprises and innovative small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We use the term ‘Startup’ as an umbrella term for all these types.

 

What do we define as a startup for this programme:

  • The business must not have been registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce or a similar chamber in its country for more than six years;
  • The business must consist of natural persons or a legal entity;
  • If the business consists of a legal entity, the business must have no more than ten salaried employees;
  • The business must not have contracted any subcontractors;
  • The business must own an MVP/prototype/beta version;
  • The business must not yet have paid customers for the product provided as the solution. The City has the intention to become launching customer with the Programme;
  • Startups must be able to align their features set with the market situation. We expect the business to be flexible and open to adjustments;
  • The business must not be a startup that has originated from another business that has 250 salaried employees or more.

Assessment

The assessment committee invites the three highest ranked startups per challenge to pitch for the assessment committee in April 2019. It is up to the startups to decide on how they will do this (pitch, film, etc.). The Startups can give a pitch for a maximum of 10 minutes to the assessment committee. Subsequently, the assessment committee will get the opportunity to ask questions for 40 minutes, in which the Assessment Committee will conduct an interview about the proposed Solution, the Pitch, the team and the motivation of the Startup for the Programme and the Challenge.

Based on the bid, the pitch, and the responses to the questions (after the pitch and during the interview) asked by the assessment committee, the assessment committee will determine which Startup is eligible to be awarded participation in the Programme. The assessment committee consists of representatives from the Programme, experts on innovation and entrepreneurship, and the civil servants responsible for the specific social and urban challenges, who can consult a team of experts at any time.

As the sole exception in the selection process, the wildcard is assessed differently. The highest ranked submissions that also meet the minimum criteria will be passed to the assessment committee, with a maximum of three startups per round. However, based on the number of received bids, the City reserves the right to do five rounds of three bids for the Wildcard. This means that the City can select a maximum of 15 of the highest ranked bids for the pitch, questions and interview.

The assessment committee will arrive unanimously at one integral score based on the three criteria described below. The three aspects will be assessed conjointly, where each criterion has equal weight. The assessment committee will give one integrated score because the integration of these criteria and the way they strengthen and positively affect another is an important part of the assessment. The best solution per challenge will be selected to participate in the Programme.

Based on the Startup’s bid, the (optional) subsequent pitch and the round of questions and the interview, the assessment committee will consider the following areas as part of the assessment:

1. Vison and innovation

The assessment committee will look at the following aspects of vision and innovation. The more persuasive the vision and innovation, the higher the assessment.

  • What is the company vision in tackling the social challenge and to what extent does it contribute to solving the social challenge?
  • How unique is the design of the concept in the short and long term?
  • How creative and innovative is the bid whilst not losing sight of the chosen solution method?
  • To what extent does the product already exist and to what extent is the product innovative?
  • Is the technology innovative and can it be used for implementation with respect to the social challenge?

2. Impact

The assessment committee looks at what the positive impact on the City and/or its inhabitants could be. The bigger the expected positive impact, the better the evaluation of the committee.

  • The use of manpower, scope and task distribution across the Startup;
  • Which possible results will the product or service have in the short and long term?
  • How can the currently available prototype or beta be further developed?
  • To what extent does the product or service contribute to the Solution of the social and urban Challenge in question?
  • What are the impact goals and how do you intend to achieve them?
  • Why is it likely that your Solution will succeed?

3.Realisation&implementation

The assessment committee will look at the following aspects of the realisation and implementation of the solution. The more specific the proposal for realisation and implementation, and the more confidence this instils, the higher the assessment.

  • How feasible is the solution?
  • How easily will the product/service be deployed and implemented?
  • Is the timeline realistic and is it financially feasible?
  • Who implements the solution?
  • Who maintains it?
  • What does this require in terms of cooperation with another department of the City or external suppliers?
  • What will the product or service look like in the short and long term, and what are the future prospects if it becomes a success?
  • Taking into account broader future implementation, the assessment committee also considers the scalability of the offered products and services and how they can be replicated in other cities.
  • The Startup has a clear expectation regarding the municipality’s role in order to realise its solution.