The Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan promotes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the UN "Transformation of our world: Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030", encouraging innovations, as well as the "Azerbaijan 2020: Vision of the Future" Development Concept and the main sectors of the National economy and economy. in order to support the implementation of the Strategic Roadmaps, the Ministries of Transport, Communication and High Technologies, Culture, State Agency for Citizen Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, "Ernst & Young Holdings (SiAyEs) Bi.Vi." company's branch in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Delegation of the United Nations Development Program jointly announced the Third Republican Innovation Competition.

Projects reflecting innovative ideas and covering the priorities of the SDG, "Azerbaijan 2020: A Vision of the Future" Development Concept and the Strategic Roadmap for National Economic Perspectives were accepted for the competition:

Inclusive labor markets:

• an innovative idea or mechanism related to active labor market and employment measures;
• solutions for the integration of vulnerable groups (children, youth, disabled, etc.) into society;
• labor organization and organizational culture;
• new technological equipment and methods that will increase economic productivity;
• innovative start-up and inclusive business incubator;
• innovative training methods related to the organization of professional education;
• innovative idea of mutual cooperation between public and private sector and vocational education institutions;
• innovative teaching and learning methods at the level of higher education;
• innovative approaches in the application of distance education methods;
• creative industry (industry);
• less capital intensive infrastructure.

Promotion of "green economy":

• green economy;
• building and raising awareness of early warning systems against climate change and natural disasters;
• effective local climate change planning and management;
• eco-friendly city life;
• environmentally friendly transport;
• environmentally friendly agricultural production;
• environmental technology or public innovation;
• energy efficiency;
• use of alternative energy sources (wind, sun, etc.);
• waste disposal;
• waste-free or low-waste technology;
• efficient and ecological use of food waste;
• marine and coastal ecosystems;
• protection, restoration and sustainable use of forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands;
• nanotechnologies and their application;
• conservation of biodiversity;
• building an electronic agricultural system;
• innovative logistics;
• technology and innovative production methods that can create high added value;
• urbanization.

Improving the provision of social services:

• innovative social services;
• social infrastructure and innovation in public life;
• innovative projects aimed at improving the services provided in the field of health, education and culture
• improving the quality of utility services;
• ICT innovation;
• IT solutions in city management (Smart City);
• IT (IoT) solutions in the field of public service provision;
• settlement planning and management;
• innovative idea or business project in the field of tourism, banking and insurance;
• advanced engineering to build sustainable infrastructure and cities;
• propaganda that will ensure the participation of all layers of society in socio-economic, cultural and public life;
• application of innovative ideas and solutions on the use of open data.

Requirements for the project submitted to the competition:

• Prioritization of areas;
• Economic efficiency;
• Feasibility of implementation.

Deadline for submission of projects

Candidates who want to participate in the competition can submit their projects until July 10, 2019 through the "Idea Bank" platform of the State Agency for Citizen Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan or by e-mail to narmin.babayeva@economy.gov.az. For this, participants must register on the website www.ideya.az, select the "2019-Innovations" competition, fill out the form and send the project. Detailed information about the competition can be obtained from the website www.sdg.az.

The winners of the competition will be awarded:

• First place - 5000 manats
• Second place - 3000 manats
• Third place - 2000 manats.

As part of the competition, projects approved by the Evaluation Commission will be supported for the implementation and implementation of various state institutions, organizations and business entities. At the same time, in addition to the main award, incentive awards are provided for projects approved by the Commission.

Within the framework of the competition, 2 teams that will be announced as winners for 2019 will participate in the "STARTUp Day" program in Estonia, 3 selected projects