Hands off my bike!

Timeline
Entry criteria
Judging criteria

Bikes have always been targets for thieves. Cyclists are more likely to have their bikes stolen than motorcyclists or car owners. Last year over 500,000 bikes were stolen in the UK (one each minute), with a recovery rate of under 5 per cent. It has been estimated that of the 17 per cent of cyclists that experience bicycle theft, 66 per cent cycle less often and 24 per cent stop altogether.

The Hands Off My Bike Challenge Prize is calling on people from all over the UK to come up with breakthrough innovations to make it more difficult to steal bikes and have the potential to increase numbers of people cycling in the UK.

The winning innovation will be the one that requires the longest time to steal the bike. The innovation will be also judged on the impact on the environment, cost and potential for commercialisation and/or implementation at scale.

The winner will receive a prize of £50,000. 

Judges may also decide to recognise a runner up innovation or innovations at their discretion.

Timeline

Deadline for entry:  18 January 2013

Invitation to the live testing of your innovation: March 2013

Live testing of the innovation: March-May 2013

Confirmation of awards and Awards Ceremony: Early June 2013

Entry Criteria

The challenge is open to any UK legal resident aged 14 or over or organisation with a UK base that comes up with an innovation to make it more difficult to steal bikes. Employees of Nesta, other individuals working on the project, and their immediate families are not eligible to enter.

Judging Criteria

Entrants will be invited to live testing of their idea based on existence of a working and testable prototype of their innovation, as well as consideration of:

• Impact on the environment
• Costs (to buy or implement - we want to see costs lower than the nearest comparable existing innovation so the innovation will be attractive to a wide number of cyclists)
• Proposals for implementation and adoption at scale through commercialisation or other means

The winning innovation will be the one that results in the longest time to steal the bike.

The Judging Panel will also take into consideration the additional criteria on environmental impact, costs and potential for scale listed above.

The deadline for entry has now passed