Atlas Network partner, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), is seeking entries to their annual Richard Koch Breakthrough Prize, with an opportunity to win £50,000. The IEA will be accepting first round entries for the competition until 12:00 PM GMT on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021.
“Although the question is expressed in UK terms, we’re keen to learn from other countries’ experiences on how to ‘level up’ regionally and therefore welcome entries from across the globe—several overseas entrants have been among the prizewinners in the past,” said Glynn Brailsford, Managing Director at the IEA.
The topic of each year’s essay question is formulated in conjunction with a prominent British member of parliament who identifies a policy area for the competition. The 2020/21 question, developed in collaboration with Dehenna Davison MP, is: “In the current severe economic climate, what pro-market, pro-enterprise policy would be the best way of supercharging growth, employment and living standards in 'left behind’ Britain?”
The competition will consist of a two round entry process. First round submissions must be between 500 and 1,000 words and are due at 12:00 PM GMT on March 2nd, 2021 to the judging panel. This year's judging panel will include Richard Koch, Founder of L.E.K. Consulting, Professor Syed Kamall, Academic and Research dDrector at the IEA and Professor of Politics and International Relations at St Mary’s University, Mark Littlewood, Director General of IEA, and Member of Parliament, Dehenna Davison.
To be considered, policy initiatives must be both politically possible and compatible with a free market society. 5-10 articles with the most interesting and innovative ideas will be moved to the second round of the competition and authors will be expected to submit 2,000-3,000 word essays expanding on their idea.
The competition carries a grand prize of £50,000 and additional prizes will be awarded for highly commended entrants and students. The 2020/21 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony in central London, which will take place in summer, 2021 (pending the status of COVID-19).
More information on the Richard Koch Breakthrough Essay Competition can be found here:
https://iea.org.uk/media/50000-prize-for-the-best-idea-on-how-to-supercharge-growth-in-left-behind-britain/
http://breakthroughprize.org.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ffd_6P3noQ
