The challenge is open to practitioners working with social and internet data across brands, agencies, consultancies, public sector organisations, research teams, and independent practice.

No. You do not need to know how to code or build the solution yourself. We’re looking for strong ideas grounded in real practitioner experience and meaningful challenges within the work.

We’re looking for ideas that could improve how social intelligence gets done in practice. This could include agents, automations, or AI-supported approaches related to listening, reporting, analysis, interpretation, escalation, quality control, narrative tracking, or decision-making.

The strongest submissions will focus on meaningful problems and explain why solving them matters.

No. Your submission does not need to be a polished technical solution or fully scoped product concept. Early-stage ideas are welcome, provided the problem and proposed approach are clearly explained.

The challenge is designed around individual submissions, as we want to surface personal practitioner perspectives and experiences from across the industry.

However, we recognise that many ideas emerge collaboratively. You’re welcome to discuss and develop ideas with colleagues, but submissions should be made by a single individual.

No. Entry to the Social Intelligence Innovation Challenge is free.

No. The challenge is designed specifically for practitioners working directly with social and internet data, rather than technology vendors or software providers.

Yes. Multiple submissions are welcome, although each idea should be submitted separately.

Entries will be reviewed across five areas:
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1. Strategic relevance
2. Impact potential
3. Methodological integrity
4. Technical feasibility
5. Ethical responsibility

Judges will assess not only whether an idea is technically possible, but whether it solves a meaningful problem and could improve practice in a credible and useful way.

Shortlisted finalists will take part in a live discussion with the judging panel and wider SI Lab community. This is an opportunity to explain the thinking behind the idea, the problem being solved, and how the proposed approach could support the work in practice.

The sessions are designed to be conversational rather than a ptich or performative. Participants are not expected to deliver a polished sales pitch or technical demonstration.

The winning concept will move into a co-development phase with Pulsar. Updates will be shared throughout the process, with the final concept revealed live at Observe Summit in Paris.

Yes. Shortlisted finalists will receive guidance ahead of the Community Review Session so they understand the format and what to expect.

The winning concept will be announced live at Observe Summit in Paris following the Community Review Sessions and judging process.

Entrants retain ownership of their original ideas and concepts. Additional terms relating to development, implementation, and co-creation with Pulsar will be discussed directly with the winning entrant as part of the build process.

All submissions will be reviewed confidentially during the judging process. If a submission is shortlisted, participants will be contacted before any public discussion or presentation takes place.

Shortlisted ideas remain the intellectual property of the entrant. The challenge is designed to surface and explore strong practitioner thinking, not to appropriate concepts that are not selected for development.

Strong submissions identify a meaningful challenge, explain why it matters, and propose a practical way automation or AI could support the work more effectively.

We are particularly interested in ideas that balance automation with human judgement thoughtfully and realistically.

That’s completely fine. Some of the strongest ideas are highly focused interventions that solve a recurring friction point particularly well. The challenge is interested in meaningful improvements, not just large-scale system concepts.

No. The challenge is not limited to fully autonomous systems. We are equally interested in approaches that support, assist, structure, or strengthen human-led work through thoughtful use of automation or AI.

Full dates for submissions, judging, and the Community Review Sessions will be announced alongside the official launch of the challenge.

We are looking for concise, clearly structured ideas rather than long technical proposals. Guidance on recommended submission length will be included within the application form.

Submissions will be completed through the official application form. Optional supporting materials such as diagrams or workflow sketches may also be included.

The challenge was created to bring practitioners directly into conversations about how social intelligence practice is evolving.

As agentic systems and AI-supported approaches become more common across the industry, we believe the people closest to the work should help shape how those systems are applied in practice.