Call for Nominations: Catalyst 2030 Awards 2024

By shining a light on the donors/stakeholders who support social innovation and entrepreneurship, they hope to redefine best practices and inspire others to follow their example. This will help to accelerate systems change while challenging current power dynamics.

The current ecosystem seldom facilitates effective collaboration between social entrepreneurs and potential partners. This remains one of the biggest challenges for the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Improving this collaboration is a central objective of the Catalyst 2030 community.

The third Catalyst 2030 Awards will be held on the TBC November 2024. They are asking you to support us in accelerating systems change by celebrating those who do it well. Please nominate the funder(s), governments, bi/multilaterals, philanthropists or corporates you most admire for a Catalyst 2030 Award.

To be part of the change you want to see, please nominate those who have helped you in your journey, or whom you have seen collaborate most effectively with other social entrepreneurs.

Categories

The overall criteria for the Awards were developed from the collective expertise of Catalyst 2030 members. For each Awards category there are also specific criteria to consider. These are based on recommendations in the reports published by Catalyst 2030: Embracing Complexity, Catalysing Collaborations, New Allies, and An Investigation into Financing Transformation.

• Governments
  • This award celebrates governments that support social entrepreneurship as a means to achieve the SDGs.
  • They welcome applications from both national and sub-national governments, which will be judged as separate categories – and there will be five awards in this category: (1) Africa (2) Americas (3) Asia Pacific (4) Europe (5) MENA. They are looking for entries for governments which demonstrate clear evidence of at least two elements of the following within their own countries:
    • Strong policies, budgets and programmes that foster social entrepreneurship;
    • Capacity and knowledge-building and training of civil servants that promotes collaboration and co-creation to improve systems;
    • Partnerships with social entrepreneurs, citizens and other stakeholders to co-create transformational change;
    • A long-term approach to these issues and clear outcomes and impact from these approaches.
• Corporates
  • They recognise that there are specific activities or practices undertaken by corporations which can and do lead to direct impact and ecosystem change. With an Award (or several Awards) they seek to highlight these best practices for private sector engagement with mission-locked social enterprises where they have led to direct benefit as well as ecosystem shifts towards inclusiveness, equity and sustainability.
  • An awardee must demonstrate that the company has experience and commitment working with third-party verified social enterprises (SEs) and that it can demonstrate that:
    • It has embedded working with SEs into its business operating systems beyond CSR/sustainability activity. To this end, it must have achieved the Catalyst Business Commitment badge at a Gold or Platinum level.
    • It understands the interconnectedness and interdependence of the SDGs and therefore works at addressing them in an integrated manner.
    • It understands, and discloses publicly, its direct and indirect impacts.
• Bilaterals and Multilaterals
  • This award celebrates teams or project units within bilateral/multilateral donors that have deployed capital to support project(s) or initiative(s) to achieve systems change. Within this award, there are four sub-categories that inform the final award, leveraging the Catalyst 2030 Funder Diagnostic Survey. These categories were informed by the Embracing Complexity Report. This award is the first of its kind to focus on the funding of systems change entrepreneurs.
    • Demonstrate public promotion of lessons learned in supporting systems change. Embrace failure as a learning process, and fund research to support learning and better practices for systems change.
    • Acknowledge and work against power dynamics, demonstrate an approach that is relational over transactional, listen to what systems change leaders need and provide targeted financial and non-financial support in an effort to co-create the desired impact.
    • Coordinate action, build strong networks with other system stakeholders, and/or leave the leading role to systems change leaders. This includes support for collaboration infrastructure – for example funding for coordination facilities, funding for the overhead associated with collaboration.
• Donors
  • This award celebrates individuals and organisations that have deployed capital to support project(s) or initiative(s) to achieve systems change. Within this award, there are four sub-categories that inform the final award leveraging the Catalyst 2030 Funder Diagnostic Survey. These categories were informed by the Embracing Complexity Report. This award is the first of its kind to focus on the funding of systems change entrepreneurs.
    • Leader in Learning
      • Embrace a Systems Mindset Demonstrated public promotion of lessons learned in supporting systems change. Demonstrated humility of sharing what has not worked and promoting learning for others.
        • To what extent does the organisation you are nominating cover grantees’/investees’ monitoring, evaluation, learning (MEL) costs?
        • To what extent has the organisation you are nominating implemented a MEL plan to help you adapt your strategy over time?
    • Leader in Trust
      • Support evolving paths to systems change & Prepare for long-term engagement Lifting up funders relinquishing control through multi-year unrestricted funding.
        • To what extent does the organization you are nominating provide funding to support reasonable salaries for team members of funded organizations rather than focusing on “reducing overhead”?
        • On average, what portion of your annual financial contribution is granted/invested without project or programme restrictions? (Include general support grants/investments to entire organisations, or to specific initiatives within large institutions.)
    • Leader in Partnership
      • Work in true partnership lifting up funders who acknowledge and work against power dynamics, are relational over transactional, listen to what systems change leaders need and provide targeted financial and non-financial support in an effort to co-create the desired impact approach and appropriate funding structure.
        • When selecting among grantee/investee candidates, to what extent does the organisation you are nominating prioritise those who are most impacted by but don’t currently have much power within the system?
        • To what extent does the organisation you are nominating address the uneven power dynamic between you and grantees/investees?

Criteria

• Everyone can submit nominations, but Catalyst 2030 members choose the finalists.
• You do not have to submit nominations for every category.
• You may submit more than one nomination per category.
• Your nominee should be aligned with Catalyst 2030’s values.
• Your nominee should treat social entrepreneurs with respect, encourage diversity, promote collaboration and support systems change.
• This award is only open to donors, philanthropists, governments, bi-/multilateral organisations or corporates that have been working closely with social entrepreneurs, towards the SDGs and systems change. Catalyst members are not eligible.
• Catalyst 2030 Awards winners from previous years may not be renominated. However, previous Awards finalists are eligible.
• All nominations are treated in the strictest confidence.
• Your nomination cannot be processed unless all the questions are fully answered.

For more information, visit Catalyst 2030.