Prizes - Frontiers Research Foundation

The Frontiers Research Foundation is launching a program called the Frontiers Prize with the goal of accelerating scientific solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet. The program will begin in the area of sustainability science by launching the Frontiers Planet Prize for scientific breakthroughs that have the greatest potential to stablize our planet’s ecosystem.

The top three scientists in this international competition will each be awarded a Frontiers Planet Prize of CHF 1 million to support their research.

Scientists who lead a research team and report their breakthrough research during 2021 and 2022 are eligible for the prize. The winning scientists can use the money in any way they choose to accelerate the development of their breakthrough science.

Scientists will be nominated by National Nominating Bodies (NNBs), which will include universities, academies and funding agencies in each country. A Jury of 100 leading sustainability scientists will cast their vote for one national champion in each country that has entered the competition and then vote for the top three international champions.

The criterion for selecting the winners of the Frontiers Planet Prize will be the potential of their scientific breakthrough to be deployed globally to keep the planet’s ecosystem within any one or more of the nine planetary boundaries (see Planetary Boundaries).

National champions will be honored at an awards ceremony in Switzerland in May 2023, at a special session of the Frontiers Forum, “A Sustainable Planet – Pushing the Boundaries of Science.” There, the three international champions will also receive their awards.

The awarding process

The criterion for selecting the winners of the Frontiers Planet Prize will be research with “demonstrable and measurable potential to keep the planet’s ecosystem within any one or more of the nine planetary boundaries” (see Planetary Boundaries).
Leading universities, academies and funding agencies in each country register with the Foundation as National Nominating Bodies (NNBs) to submit their nominations for national champion.
A National Representative Body (NRB) within each country collects the nominations made by the NNBs, confirming that equitable awareness and opportunity was given to all scientists relevant to the prize.
The NRB in each country selects three of the nominees to submit to the Foundation as entrants to the competition.
The Foundation invites a A Jury of 100 leading sustainability scientists, chaired by the Earth Commission, to evaluate the nominated national champions from each participating country.
The jury’s votes determine one national champion for each participating country, with “playoff-type” voting in the case of a tie.
In a second round of voting, the jury selects three international champions from among the national champions.
The three international champions will each receive the Frontiers Planet Prize of CHF 1 million to help accelerate their breakthrough research. The process ensures that scientists from three different countries win the prize.
Frontiers Planet Prizes will be awarded each year at an awards ceremony at the annual Frontiers Forum in Switzerland in a special session dedicated to “A Sustainable Planet – Pushing the Boundaries of Science” to which all national champions, international champions, NNBs and NRBs will be invited.

The general selection of the jury:

The jury will look for the top three submissions that yield the best measurable potential to keep the planets system within its planetary boundaries. The NRBs should seek to nominate the top three submissions in their country that demonstrate a potential applicable solution with impact at global scale.

Specific “assessment criteria” for the jury are:

Each submission presents the best potential applicable solution to tackle planetary (environmental) threats. The solution should be scalable, involve a maximum number of the planetary boundaries, and contribute to the general understanding of the planetary boundaries.

Each submission will be assessed based on the:

Applicability of the research results
Scalability of the application
Number of planetary boundaries involved
Contribution to general understanding of Planetary boundaries
Scientific novelty
Research quality

Learn more about the Frontiers Planet Prize with our brochure and
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Brochure

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Prizes

The Frontiers Planet Prize is for international science
champions.

Scientists in any country that makes a trail blazing breakthrough in the year of the award, are eligible.

No direct applications to the Foundation are accepted. Nominations can only be made by invited nominating bodies in each country that are invited by the Foundation. An independent Jury of 100 leading sustainability scientists, chaired by the Earth Commission, will choose national champions in each country and the international champions among the nominees.

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Pioneers

The Frontiers Pioneer Award is for pioneering research on one of the nine planetary boundaries.

Scientists performing critical research to improve the quantification of the nine planetary boundaries are eligible.

No direct applications to the Foundation are accepted. Experts from the Earth Commission and leading sustainability scientists are invited to help the Foundation identify pioneers in strategic areas of research who need urgent support. These awards are made at the sole discretion of the Foundation.

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Partnerships

The Frontiers Partnership Award is for cooperation between organisations on sustainability science.

Foundations or NGOs that have similar goals as the Frontiers Research Foundation are eligible.

No direct applications to the Foundation are accepted. Experts from the Earth Commission and leading sustainability scientists are invited to help the Foundation identify synergistic partnerships. These awards are made at the sole discretion of the Foundation.

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