What criteria will the Jury consider in their evaluations?
The prize mechanics
The Frontiers Planet Prize is designed to bring forward and recognize the scientists who will help Earth remain within its 9 planetary boundaries.
Scientists who wish to participate in the prize can do so through their research institution or university, who have agreed to act as a National Nominating Body (NNB). The NNB reaches out to the lead scientist of the most promising research articles and invites them to apply by filling out a standard application form, supplied by the Frontiers Research Foundation.
The lead scientist is the individual appointed by the NNB who best represents the team of the published article, and in the event of being awarded the International Champion title by the Jury of 100, is the individual that will manage the prize money to drive the research project forward. The lead scientist of each application is proposed directly by the NNB.
The NNB then considers each application and sends the top three nominations to the country’s national academy of science, which acts as the National Representative Body (NRB).
The NRBs shortlist three nominations to represent the country, which are sent to the Jury of 100. After a first round of voting, the title of National Champion is awarded to the winning nomination for each participating country. After a second round of voting, three International Champions are selected from the pool of National Champions. Each International Champion wins 1 million Swiss francs to advance their important breakthrough research.
Scientific criteria
The Frontiers Planet Prize will be awarded to the best research published in established peer-reviewed scientific journals, with robust peer review and transparent publication procedures.
The acceptance date of the article must fall within the 2 years prior to the launch of the competition (thus for the 3rd edition, launched on April 22nd 2024: date of acceptance: 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2024).
Scientific excellence is the default principle to participate in the Frontiers Planet Prize. The prize welcomes breakthrough research across all disciplines, including social sciences, on condition it is focused on Planetary Boundaries and presents original research findings or insightful reviews and syntheses that help to reduce the destabilization of the Earth system.
For contributions to be considered for the Frontiers Planet Prize, the following criteria must be met:
The following criteria must be met for contributions to be considered for the Frontiers Planet Prize:
The research outlines systemic solutions or pathways that can be implemented in policies, adapted commercially, or otherwise contribute to keep global development within Planetary Boundaries.
The research advances the scientific understanding and quantification of Planetary Boundaries. It explores how Planetary Boundaries are affected or impact life support systems/the Earth system or investigates the implications of adopting Planetary Boundaries thinking across disciplines, sectors and activities/applications.
The research must connect to several Planetary Boundaries at the Earth system scale. Research that explores interactions/relations between multiple Planetary Boundaries will be prioritized.
The Frontiers Planet Prize honors scientific breakthroughs which accelerate solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet. The Prize is representative of the global scientific community and aims to be inclusive of all scientists, subject areas and geographical regions.
To address the planetary crisis and mobilize widespread global change, all perspectives that reflect the diverse contributions of nominees should be considered. During the nomination process we strongly encourage each National Nominating Body to address any unintended bias in the proposed candidates.
The Jury’s procedure
The Jury will decide the champions of the competition independently, transparently, and under the strictest standards of confidentiality
Each submission presents original research findings or insightful reviews and syntheses focused on Planetary Boundaries that help to reduce the destabilization of the Earth system.
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
Note the Frontiers Planet Prize does not guarantee a National Champion for each participating country. This decision, along with the selection process, is managed independently by the jury of 100.