Innovation money well spent?
Dear people of the EYIF,
Dear US Mission to the European Union,
Dear Herbert Reul,
Dear Damien Abad,
Dear Ms. Nellie Kroes,
Dear Mr. Vincent Van Quickenborne,
I didn't hear much about the EYIF before last week but once I've heard about the InnotourUSA, they got my full attention. Although the threshold to enter the competition for this 10-days innovation tour through the USA was pretty high (3 min video, a little essay), more than 200 people participated in the contest.
Was it too much? Probably.
The day the EYIF were supposed to announce the winners, there was only radio silence. Mails, tweets, Facebook messages got no answer. But all of a sudden, they announced that the winners would be informed two days later.
What I noticed immediately is that one of the co-founders of the EYIF, in casu: Arno Geens won this contest. I'm not sure but from what I can find is that I already know one other participant who has more balls and brains for innovation than he will ever have. I also noticed that another one on the reserve list is affiliated too with the EYIF... Too much coincidence?
I hope to get some transparency on the process. I'm wondering how this judging has been done. Who was judging - names please? There was supposed to be a shortlist. Who was on that shortlist? Did they have contact with all these potential candidates? They had some kind of scoring cards as is described in the selection procedure - can we have a look at our own score?
In short: How ethical has the judging of InnotourUSA been?
And while I have your attention; I am currently working on a project that will disrupt the internet by giving people back control over their online identities. How can the EU or the EYIF support me and my team in realizing real innovation?
Your sincerely,