Calling all honey bee and animal nutrition enthusiasts!
The Honey Bee Health Coalition is excited to announce the launch of the 2017 Bee Nutrition Challenge: An Innovation Award.
The Problem
Our honey bees are in trouble, partly because they don’t have enough to eat. Thanks to researchers, we’ve learned a lot about the nutrients bees need in order to thrive. However, there’s a lot we still don’t understand about the best diet to keep bees happy and healthy. Bees are facing greater and greater challenges from land use, agricultural, and ecological forces that make it tough for bees to find their own meals. That’s where you come in.
The Competition
Making a difference can start with one bold idea. The Honey Bee Health Coalition is looking for creative, practical solutions to accelerate and pioneer the field of honey bee nutrition. We want to hear from folks within the community and newcomers to the bee world – no beekeeping or research experience required!
You’re invited to submit your most innovative project idea to tackle honey bee nutrition challenges, for the chance to win prize money to implement your project. Competition finalists will be flown to the 2018 American Bee Research Conference in Reno, NV to present their ideas to a panel of judges in a “Shark Tank”-style showdown. Finalists will have the opportunity to network with hundreds of bee industry experts and join a passionate community working on honey bee health. Competition judges will award a total of up to $40,000 of prize money to up to four amazing project ideas. Winners also will have full access to subject matter experts and others from the Coalition’s member organizations — including mentoring and advice. The finalists and winners will respectively receive travel stipends for the 2018 American Bee Research Conference and the 2019 American Bee Research Conference.
Your idea might be a research project, plans for a new product, or a new system of honey bee feeding no one has ever thought of before. Maybe there’s a honey bee take-out service just waiting to be invented.
Ready to join the next generation of inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and amateur aficionados working to shape the future of honey bee health? Read on to learn how to apply.
The Details
Timeline
August 1, 2017: The competition opens for submissions. The application is available at the bottom of this BUZZ
September 7, 2017: The Coalition holds a Q&A conference call (866-315-1575) from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time to answer questions about the competition and process.
October 6, 2017: Deadline for project submissions
October 25, 2017: Competition finalists are announced
January 11-12, 2018: Competition finalists present their projects to judges at the 2018 American Bee Research Conference
January 12, 2018: Competition winners are awarded
Categories
We’re interested in practical, applied solutions for improving and better understanding honey bee nutrition. Your project might be:
- A field trial testing a new or existing nutrition supplement
- A tool to help beekeepers test the efficacy of nutrition supplements
- A new method to assess key factors in bee nutrition
- A new bee feeding mechanism
- Another type of creative project to improve bee health
Need some inspiration? Check out the Honey Bee Health Coalition’s report, Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements for areas we feel need more exploration.
Project Criteria
Entries must be a project designed to advance the honey bee nutrition field. Applications should address the following:
- Innovation: How will your project advance the honey bee nutrition industry? What makes your idea unique?
- Impact: How will your idea make a difference in honey bee health?
- Feasibility: If your project is chosen as a winner, what’s your plan to implement your idea?
Questions?
The Coalition will hold a Q&A session on a conference call to answer prospective applicants’ questions about the competition and process. The call will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time via this number: 866-315-1575.
Finalists
Up to 10 competition finalists will be selected to present their ideas to judges in person at the 2018 American Bee Research Conference in Reno, NV. Travel stipends will be provided to all finalists. Judges will award up to $40,000 of prize money to up to four competition winners to complete their projects.
Competition winners will present their progress or final project results at the 2019 American Bee Research Conference and a travel stipend will once again be provided.
Application
The Bee Nutrition Challenge: An Innovation Award
How to Apply
Please provide the following information in a Microsoft Word document and email as an attachment to Matthew Mulica at mmulica@keystone.org by October 6, 2017. Please keep your applications up to 2 pages in length.
Applicant Information
Name:
Contact Phone:
Contact Email Address:
Professional Affiliation:
Applying individually or as a team?
Project Title:
Description of Project:
Summarize your project, including your approach, intended outcomes, and an explanation of how your idea will advance the honey bee nutrition industry and improve bee health.
Implementation Overview:
Summarize how your project will be implemented if selected as a winner; discuss the feasibility of your project and provide a rough implementation timeline.
Partnerships & Resources:
What types of connections and partnerships in the honey bee community would help you complete your project? Have you pursued any of these resources already? Note that the Honey Bee Health Coalition may be able to facilitate partnerships for selected projects.
( ) Applicant represents and warrants to the members of the Honey Bee Health Coalition and the Keystone Center that its submission to the “2017 Bee Nutrition Challenge: An Innovation Award” will not be plagiarized or infringe the rights of third parties.
( ) If applicant is selected, applicant or a member of applicant’s team will attend the panel at the American Bee Research Conference in Reno, NV, January 11-12, 2018.
( ) Applicant will commence and complete the research that applicant is proposing to submit.
