This document summarizes information about the 2019 Inspire Challenge competition hosted by CGIAR, which provides grants for pilot projects focusing on food systems, agriculture, and ecosystems. Key details include: - The competition will award up to 5 pilot grants of $100k each and 1 or more scaling grants of $250k. - Projects should test new ideas and make something rather than function as pure research. They will be pitched to and questioned by researchers, donors, partners, and farmers. - Topics for projects include revealing food system flows, monitoring pests/diseases, empowering data-driven farming, and sensing/renewing ecosystems. - Successful proposals will demonstrate meaningful partnerships, innovat

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2. 15 CGIAR Research centers Worldwide
Learn more about CGIAR Centers at https://www.cgiar.org/research/research-centers/

3. Learn more about CGIAR Research Portfolio at https://www.cgiar.org/research/research-portfolio/

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5. 2019 Inspire Challenge
 Annual competition program awarding grants for pilot projects
 Supporting CGIAR-led, innovative, and inspiring projects
 Up to five pilots (100K) and one+ scaling-up (250K) grants
 Deliverables: Proofs of concept, datasets, workflows, new tools/services
 Four topics:
Revealing Food System Flows
Monitoring Pests & Diseases
Empowering Data-Driven Farming
Sensing and Renewing Ecosystems

6. Meaningful Partnership
Leveraging partners’ capabilities to create something more than the sum of its parts
1. Highlight what the partnership brings to CGIAR
2. Seek partners with proven, verifiable track records of successes
3. Be open and creative to connect with unconventional partners

7. Innovativeness
How new or groundbreaking the idea is to the topic
1. Identify opportunities not overlapping (or competing) with existing CRP portfolio and
ongoing partnerships.
2. Check to see if similar ideas have been already piloted/used in the past. Judges will
know! Justify how your approach will be different.
3. Strategize for testing hypotheses, assessing impacts, and building potential business
cases.

8. Data, data, data
Enhanced utility of underused data from multiple sources, especially CGIAR data
1. Be (big) data-driven.
2. Incorporate existing data and their value-additions.
3. Be sensitive on the “responsible data management”
4. Highlight a F.A.I.R dataset as an output and its usefulness to others at CGIAR and
partners.

9. Process
Get ready already!
1. Form submission by June 17
2. Pre-assessment
3. Shortlist to 10-15 proposals
4. The Convention!
(Hyderabad, October 16-18)
 Innovation Marketplace
 Pitches
 The Award Ceremony
5. Workplan
6. Budget disbursement (PPA)

10. Final Remarks
1. Might not for a typical research project. You’ll need to *make* something. Blend research and
scientific approaches, but do not make it as a pure research project.
2. You pitch will be *questioned* by peer researchers, donors, public sector partners, private
sector industry leaders, and farmers. May not be suitable for all researchers.
3. Be responsive to the requirements and expectations. Do not recycle research proposals!
4. You have a chance to defend, but do your homework and be ready. Judges will know if a
similar approach has been piloted and worked/failed.

11. Learn more about the 2019 Inspire Challenge at https://bigdata.cgiar.org/inspire