CivTech Round 9 Challenges

CivTech is a Scottish Government programme that brings people from the public, private and third sectors together to build things that make the world a better place. They take real problems faced by government departments, public sector organisations and charities, and invite anyone with a brilliant idea to work hand-in-hand with us and them to create the solution.

At the heart of the programme is the Innovation Flow, which centres around an intense 15-week Accelerator. Innovative and ambitious teams, selected through an open and straightforward process, are paid to build working prototypes — and receive a huge amount of business growth support.

The Challenges on Round 9 focus on wide range of areas: the natural world, supply chain development, food security, cyber security and core government services are all represented. All offer huge opportunity, and some of them are nothing less than the chance to reinvent how we do things.

While all of the problems we’re seeking to solve are well mapped out, none of them have prescribed solutions – these are Open Challenges and we’re looking for truly inventive and ambitious approaches coupled with the kind of knowledge, expertise and knowhow needed to bring the idea to fruition.

Individuals, teams, pre-starts, start-ups, early stage and established SMEs, and large companies are all welcome to apply — you most definitely don’t need to be a company to enter. The really friendly application process ensures a level playing field, so it’s the best propositions that get through. And because each Challenge normally takes just one solution through to the Accelerator Stage, you won’t be sitting in the room on Day One looking at a dozen or more competitors building the same product. This feature, where there are multiple Challenges from all areas of government, is one of our great strengths: it’s in the diversity of teams and solutions, and through the support teams give to each other, that we develop really compelling propositions.

You don’t have to be someone with a technical background, or an experienced businessperson, or an academic to come up with a brilliant solution to our Challenges. We want you to really push the envelope of what’s possible and give us your most innovative ideas. We’ll look at everything.

All you need is that great idea, and a determination to see it develop — we’ll help you do the rest.

Round 9 challenges:

Challenge 9.1: How can technology help us rapidly and accurately gather and analyse stress, pests and disease data in trees and wild plants to aid early detection at national levels?

Challenge 9.2: How can technology help empower women to better understand menopause and access the right support for their individual needs at the right time?

Challenge 9.3: How can we help Wildlife Rangers identify the exact location of every animal larger than 5 kilograms in a specified area in real time, in order to improve forest management and ecological restoration?

Challenge 9.4: How can innovation help get venison sourced through sustainable deer management practices, into the food supply chain safely and quickly?

Challenge 9.5: How can we use technology to create the most efficient and secure supply chain for public sector procurements?

Challenge 9.6: How can technology help Scotland’s public sector protect against ransomware and other forms of cyber-crime, and should they occur mitigate and recover from their effects, including data loss?

Challenge 9.7: How can technology help increase access to public services and products by making use of the trusted relationships people already have?

Challenge 9.8: How can technology offer everyone an individualised communications channel that is endlessly adaptable, never goes out of date and interacts with public sector services securely and in a timely way?

Challenge 9.9: How can technology and data create a streamlined experience to help people and businesses across Scotland get access to training, guidance, support and approval for the licences they need, starting with tobacco and fireworks products?

To find out more about each challenge, visit the challenges page at the link below.