For the first time, these three international networks are combining efforts to support and promote systemic change in the practices of design with the intent of building on the common ground they share. Recognizing design projects with exceptional social, economic, environmental, and pedagogic impact, this year the SEED + dbXchange + Live Projects Network Awards will represent the greater scale and growing relationships needed to create truly sustainable projects and positive change in all communities globally. While each network has a unique focus, sharing the awards acknowledges their common ground: supporting the growth of excellence in public interest design.

A total of six projects will be selected for awards through a competitive juried process. Two winners will be selected from each of the three networks that represent their public interest design principles and selection criteria.

Winning projects receive a $2,000 honorarium for a trip for one team representative to present their work at an international conference, taking place at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon in April 2017. Built on the framework of the annual Structures for Inclusion Conference, this joint conference will focus on sharing built works, research, and discussions which can inform the future collaborations and efforts by these networks, and others, to promote access to design as a basic human right.

SCHEDULE
Deadline for each application on all three network platforms is Friday, January 6, 2017, 11:59 pm EST.
Award Winners will be announced on the networks’ websites Thursday, January 26, 2017.
Awards Presented: Structures for Inclusion Conference, April 7 and 8, 2017.

JURY
The Awards jury will represent the three combined networks:
Sergio Palleroni, Chair, Co-founder of the BaSiC Initiative and Director, Center for Public Interest, Portland State University
Bryan Bell, Executive Director, Design Corps, and Associate Professor, NC State University
Sue Thering, Programs Director, Design Corps
Ursula Hartig, Director CoCoon-Studio and Co-founder of dbXchange.eu, Technische Universität Berlin
Peter Fattinger, Director of design.build and Co-founder of dbXchange.eu, Technische Universität Wien
Jane Anderson, Co-founder of the Live Projects Network, Oxford Brookes University
Colin Priest, Co-founder of the Live Projects Network, Chelsea College of Arts

ELIGIBILITY
Projects in the field of the built environment that have been designed or redesigned for the public good will be considered. Projects in progress or completed in the past three years are eligible. Any design Projects can be at any stage, done by student, professional, or DIY (do-it-yourself) will be considered. Work may be undertaken anywhere in the world. The entry criteria vary according to the network in which the application is made, this reflects the different foci of the individual networks. Please take a closer look at the eligibility criteria for each network before applying.

CRITERIA FOR SEED NETWORK AWARDS
Participation: How and to what extent have community members and stakeholders been involved in the design and planning processes?
Effectiveness: How and to what extent does the project address the community’s critical needs and challenges?
Excellence: How and to what extent does the project achieve the highest possible design quality, relate with its context, and dignify the experiences of those it touches?
Inclusiveness: How and to what extent does the project promote social equity as well as reflect a diversity of social identities and values.
Impact: How and to what extent are the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the project known and being measured?
Systemic: How and to what extent might the project or process be scaled up to have a broader impact?

CRITERIA FOR dbXchange NETWORK AWARDS
The projects for this award need to:
Be based in higher education
Have a brief, budget and timeframe
Have a client/user
Allow students to be physically involved in the materialization of their designs
Be of architectural, social, cultural, scientific, technical or artistic relevance

CRITERIA FOR LIVE PROJECTS NETWORK AWARDS
Participation: what expertise did different participants bring that is relevant to this project?
Excellence: how and to what extent does the project achieve the highest possible design quality, relate to its context and its users?
Impact: what sustainable social, economic and / or environmental benefits did the project bring to the local community?
Dissemination: how will the various forms of knowledge created by this project be applied and communicated to others by participants in future.
Projects eligible for this award must fulfill this definition of a live project: “A live project comprises the negotiation of a brief, timescale, budget and product between an educational organisation and an external collaborator for their mutual benefit. The project must be structured to ensure that students gain learning that is relevant to their educational development.” (Anderson and Priest, 2012). Projects must be in the field of the built environment.

AWARDS HOSTS
Design Corps: Design Corps creates positive change in traditionally underserved communities by using design, advocacy, and education to help them shape their environment and address their social, economic, and environmental challenges. Design Corps was founded in 1991 with a mission to create positive change in traditionally underserved communities by using design, advocacy, and education to help them shape their environment and address their social, economic, and environmental challenges. Our mission is realized when people are involved in the decisions that shape their lives. Design Corps’ programs, including the SEED Network, the SEED Evaluator, and the Public Interest Design Institute, bring the skills sets of design and planning to empower communities. For more information, visit https://designcorps.org.

SEED Network: Established in 2005, the Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) Network provides a common standard to guide, evaluate and measure the social, economic, and environmental impact of design. SEED is premised on the belief that design can play a vital role in the most critical issues that face communities and individuals, in crisis and in every day challenges. To accomplish this, the SEED process guides professionals to work alongside locals who know their community and its needs. This practice of “trusting the local” is increasingly recognized as a highly effective way to sustain the health and longevity of a place or a community as it develops. For more information, visit www.seednetwork.org.

dbXchange Network: The dbXchange platform addresses projects in the framework of academic education with an emphasis on the built environment. The main aims of the platform are to exchange knowledge and experiences on academic DesignBuild projects as well as to stimulate the DesignBuild methodology. The platform provides tools for supporting DesignBuild project workflows as well as providing access to detailed information about the projects themselves, their related networks and stakeholders. For more information, visit www.dbxchange.eu.

Live Projects Network: Established in 2012, the Live Projects Network is an online resource to connect students, educators, clients, practitioners and researchers involved in live projects. Its aims are to promote the use of live projects in education, share best practice, encourage dialogue and also contribute to the establishment of a theoretical basis for the study of live projects. The site includes case studies of contemporary live projects from around the world that can be filtered by their various resources and contexts, links to further information and connects to the sites of network members. For more information, visit http://liveprojectsnetwork.org.