Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2011. All dates, amounts and procedures belong to the fourth edition of the award in 2011. Law 30/1992, cited for submission methods, was replaced in Spain by Law 39/2015.
This is an initiative of Castellón de la Plana City Council, now in the fourth edition of its “Ciutat de Castelló” Entrepreneurs Award, which aims to encourage the creation of new businesses. Below are the contest rules as published, including prize amounts, requirements and assessment criteria.
1. Purpose
The purpose of this award is to recognize and promote the work of entrepreneurs who have developed or launched innovative business projects in processes, services and/or products.
2. Who can enter
The award is open to individuals and legally constituted companies within the European Union.
3. Prizes
The award carries a cash prize of FOUR THOUSAND EUROS (€4,000.00).
There will also be an additional prize of ONE THOUSAND EUROS (€1,000.00) for business projects created by young entrepreneurs, awarded by the City Council’s Youth Department. To qualify, the majority of the partners and of the company’s capital (51%) must belong to young people aged 35 or under at the time the rules of this call are published. Cash prizes will be paid to the winners once the Citizen Participation office has sent the following documents to the Municipal Comptroller:
a) the decision of the relevant municipal body approving the rules of this call;
b) the minutes drawn up by the award jury;
c) the payee details form.
The winner of the contest will be required to collaborate with the City Council in whatever activities it decides on to publicize the award.
4. Documentation
Candidates must submit all the documentation supporting their entry, including information on: the organization, human resources, investments, legal form, and the execution of the project entered for the award or, where applicable, its execution timeline.
The entry must also include an executive summary (maximum 3 pages) of the business project, which should be clear and precise. It must be submitted both on paper (in a sealed envelope marked IV Edición del Premio Emprendedores Ciutat de Castelló de la Plana) and electronically.
5. Submitting the documentation
The submission period opens on 15 October and closes on 30 November 2011. Applications can be submitted in several ways:
At the General Registry of Castellón de la Plana City Council, at any of the registries of the city’s District Boards, or at the Citizen Participation Unit, located at calle Campoamor, 28 P02 PTA. A, Castellón.
Any of the submission and delivery methods provided for in Article 38 of Law 30/1992 of 26 November, on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and Common Administrative Procedure, may also be used.
6. Criteria for assessing the business ideas
To award the prize, the jury will score entries out of a maximum of 20 points, based on the following criteria:
1. A study of the project’s technical and economic viability and an assessment of the company’s potential in all its functions. Up to 10 points.
2. Without these being the only or binding criteria, the jury will consider the following merits. Up to 5 points.
- That the project has a particularly strong connection to the city of Castellón de la Plana.
- That the business project entered has been recognized by other public administrations or by public or private institutions.
3. The following aspects will also be assessed, by way of example and not limitation. Up to 5 points.
- Companies that hire people at risk of social exclusion, notably: immigrants, women who are sole carers for their families, the long-term unemployed and people over 45.
- Companies that, given their small size, the jury considers to have made a special effort in presenting the project entered for the award.
- Companies committed to the health and safety of their workers.
7. Jury
The jury will be chaired by the Deputy Mayor responsible for Citizen Participation and will be made up of representatives of Castellón City Council and experts from the business world.
The head of the Information, Citizen Services and Citizen Participation Section will act as secretary to the jury, by delegation of the Secretary General of Castellón de la Plana’s municipal administration.
The jury’s decision will be final and will be made public within 15 days of the close of the submission period.
8. Ownership of the winning entries
The winning entry will become the property of Castellón de la Plana City Council and will be kept in its archive. Its use will be governed by current intellectual property law.
Return of entries: entries that do not win can be collected during January 2012 from the offices of the Citizen Participation Unit.
Once that period is over, the authors or owners of any entries not collected will be deemed to have waived their rights to them, and the entries will become the property of Castellón de la Plana City Council.
9. Acceptance of the rules
Taking part implies acceptance of these rules in full. Any issue not covered by these rules will be resolved by the jury.
Good luck to everyone taking part.
Featured image: Juan Emilio Prades Bel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
