The Stone Family Foundation

Assessment process

Prize winning candidates went through an extensive process of review and due diligence, before being awarded the £100,000 Prize. This process consisted of three stages.

First round

Organisations with innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives were invited to apply for the Prize. The first round of applications closed on 22nd March and the foundation received over 170 applications for initiatives based in 37 countries.

Second round

20 short-listed candidates were invited to submit a more detailed application form. Of these, the Foundation asked an independent panel of 10 experts to review the top applications against the criteria for the Prize. The panel had significant experience both in the water sector, and more broadly in enterprise development. It was composed of the following members:

• Louis Boorstin, Deputy Director—Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

• Andrew Cotton, Director of the Water, Engineering and Development Centre, Loughborough University

• Isobel Davidson, Partnerships coordinator at Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

• Monica Ellis, Chief Executive of Global Water Challenge

• Barbara Evans, Senior lecturer at the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds

• David Irwin, independent consultant

• Nijhad Jamal, Portfolio manager at Acumen Fund

• Harold Lockwood, Director of Aguaconsult

• Simon Merchant, Chief Executive of Jacana Venture Partnership

• Sophie Tremolet, independent consultant

On 25 June, a meeting was held to short-list the top 6-8 candidates. Following extensive deliberation on each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, the panel decided on seven candidates for the final round of the Prize.

Final round

The trustees visited the seven candidates short-listed by the expert panel and selected one prize winner and four other strong candidates to support outside of the Prize framework.