Design Corps and Social Economic Environmental Design® (SEED) Network – in conjunction with our 2014 partner, Parsons The New School for Design – are pleased to announce the Fourth Annual SEED Awards for Excellence in Public Interest Design. Recognizing design projects with exceptional social, economic, and environmental impact, the SEED Awards represent the forces needed to create truly sustainable projects and positive change in the world.

Through a competitive jury process, six projects will be selected and celebrated. Winning projects will receive a $1,000 honorarium and an all-expense-paid trip for one team representative to present at the annual Structures for Inclusion (SFI 14) conference, taking place March 2014 in New York City.

Schedule
Deadline for applications: Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Announcement of winners: Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Presentation of awards: March 2014

Eligibility
Three broad categories of projects that have been designed or redesigned for the public good will be considered:

1. Products;
2. Places; such as buildings, landscapes, and other environments
3. Processes; such as services, systems, business practices, or public policies

Projects in progress or completed in the past three years are eligible.

Student, professional, and DIY projects will be considered, including work undertaken by individuals, nonprofit entities, private firms, and universities.

Work may be undertaken anywhere in the world.

Submissions that communicate the voices of actual clients or users are strongly encouraged.

Selection Criteria & Questions

SEED is a common standard to guide, evaluate and measure the social, economic and environmental impact of design projects.

The  Awards use the SEED Evaluator Application to collect information about projects. The evaluator is a communication tool that allows communities to define goals for design projects and then measure the success in achieving these through a juried, third-party review.

Entries will be judged based on how well they address the following questions.

Participation: How and to what extent have community members and stakeholders been involved in the design and planning processes?

Effectiveness: How and to what extent does the project address the community’s critical needs and challenges?

Excellence: How and to what extent does the project achieve the highest possible design quality, relate with its context, and dignify the experiences of those it touches?

Inclusiveness: How and to what extent does the project promote social equity as well as reflect a diversity of social identities and values.

Impact: How and to what extent are the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the project known and being measured?

Systemic: How and to what extent might the project or process be scaled up to have a broader impact?

To be considered for the 2014 SEED Awards, one must register and submit Page 1 and Page 2 of the SEED EvaluatorApplication. You must register and complete the SEED Application by no later than 11:59 PM Easter Standard Time, November 12, 2013.

The application is estimated to take between 1-3 hours.

Download the 2014 SEED Call for Entries Press Release.

> via designcorps.org