GICHD Innovation Award 2026

Awardee(s) will receive a CHF 4,000 prize, visibility through GICHD platforms, and the opportunity to present their innovation at a dedicated Award Ceremony in late 2026. 

They will also have opportunities to explore potential partnerships and access follow-up support to further develop, test, or pilot their awarded submissions. In addition, all applications will contribute to a knowledge base made available to mine action stakeholders, helping advance learning and innovation across the sector. 

Awards will be given in the following categories: 

Breakthrough Innovation 

Novel solutions that substantially improve efficiency, effectiveness, or quality in mine action operations, introducing new ways to address persistent challenges.  

Frugal Innovation 

Simple, practical, and resource-efficient solutions that address operational challenges and can be easily adopted or replicated in comparable settings.  

Scalable Innovation 

Solutions that have been successfully tested in operational environments and are ready to transition to broader operational deployment, demonstrating a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6–7 or higher and clear pathways for adoption across mine action programmes or contexts. 

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of the Mine Action Innovation Hub members. Proposals are evaluated against the defining characteristics of one of the Award categories — Breakthrough, Frugal, or Scalable Innovation.  

The panel will use the following cross-cutting evaluation criteria to rank submissions within each category: 

-Impact: The significance of the problem the submission aims to solve and the potential benefits of its implementation. 
-Relevance: The extent to which the proposed solution addresses a clearly defined operational need in mine action.  
-Technical quality: The logic, coherence, completeness, and clarity in communicating the technical ideas of the submission. 

Your submission will be considered complete once you have completed both of the following steps:

1. Fill out and submit the online form with your information.
2. Send the completed Submission Template to innovation@gichd.org

 The submission form     Download submission template