It should be simple and concise but well thought out. What is the problem you are trying to solve?  How are you proposing to solve the problem, and what might have already been tried?  What are possible road blocks?  What difference will solving the problem have?  What funding do you need, and who is, or will be, your community partner?

Check out GVSU's CEO club website for tips on how to develop a great pitch. 

The only way to submit an idea for the Laker Effect Challenge is through the online submission form. This consists of your contact information, affiliation with GVSU, which GVSU department you're working with, a brief description of the submission, and budget specifics.

Ideas can be submitted at any time during the submission timeframe. Once the voting period begins, your idea or project description can be seen publicly. Site visitors will be able to vote on your project, which could send it into the pitch competition.  

Check the homepage for important deadlines.

Any idea submitted after the deadline cannot be considered for the coming Laker Effect Challenge. 

Not entirely. There is a Laker Effect Committee which will ultimately make the final selection on which five ideas will be presenting at the event. However, the vote tally is strongly considered in the decision as an endorsement from the community, and through the voting process, your idea/project gets “air time.” It’s a wonderful way to tell others about what you are thinking/doing!  Disseminate those ideas! Find NEW collaborations!

If you are chosen by the host committee to present your idea, you will be notified directly - check the homepage for this date.  You will be assigned a “pitch coach” and are expected to work with them, and/or the Speech Lab at GVSU for presentation polishing.

If your idea was not chosen for the competition for which you submitted, you must resubmit the idea for any future competition.  You can submit the same idea or project as many times as you would like!  Unless you win, which excludes you from submitting the same idea or project again. 

More than one idea may be submitted per person/group to go to the voting stage, but only one of those ideas will be permitted to move on to the final round of the live pitch competition.

A faculty member can be the faculty/department liaison for multiple students/student groups in the final round if the students will be the ones to implement the project with the community partner.

If you are experiencing a submission loading error, it could be one of the following issues causing the problem:

1) What browser and version are you using? The Laker Effect Challenge is supported on the latest two versions of Internet Explorer on Windows, the latest versions of Chrome and Safari on Windows and Apple OSX, and the latest versions of Chrome and Safari on Android and Apple devices.

2) Have you tried clearing your browser's cache?

If you are still having trouble submitting your idea after you have eliminated the circumstances above, please email [email protected] to let us know that you are experiencing submission errors, and we will be happy to help!

You can encourage students to participate and offer to be their faculty/staff liaison, especially if you know that they are already working with community partners! This could be a great opportunity for graduate students working on their thesis to get funding towards their project. 

More than one idea may be submitted per person/group to go to the voting stage, but only one of those ideas will be permitted to move on to the final round of the live pitch competition.

A faculty member can be the faculty/department liaison for multiple students/student groups in the final round if the students will be the ones to implement the project with the community partner.

Check the homepage for the voting period dates.

Voting on projects for the Laker Effect Challenge takes place through the voting page on the Laker Effect Challenge website. Each voter can only vote once.

You are permitted one vote.

It was decided that one of the most vital aspects of the Laker Effect Challenge is the opportunity to share ideas. Therefore, the main purpose of the vote is to get “eyes on projects” and disseminate the great community contributions GVSU Lakers make!  And of course, the more votes a project gets, the closer to the top of the committee review list it goes.

If one idea appears to have an unusual number of votes due to an attempt to game the system, it will be disqualified.

The Laker Effect Committee also reserves the right to disqualify any proposal for any reason at any time.

No, you may not vote more than once for the same idea. If one idea appears to have an unusual number of votes due to an attempt to game the system, it will be disqualified.

If one idea appears to have an unusual number of votes due to an attempt to game the system, it will be disqualified.

The Laker Effect Committee also reserves the right to disqualify any proposal for any reason at any time.

Judges are selected by the Laker Effect Challenge Committee from a diverse group of community stakeholders.

Judges are looking for a project that is smart and that, with a little money, is ready for the next strategic step to be taken.  This strategic next step will have an immediate impact.  It will also have a long-term impact.  Ideally, the “seed” of funding for the project has an amazing capacity to grow (sustainability!). 

Click for Judging Criteria

The top ideas, based on votes and the Laker Effect Challenge committee review, will present at the Laker Effect Challenge event. There will be a pool of $5,000 in total award available per event, and the maximum single prize is $3,000. The judges will allocate the prize money based on Laker Effect Challenge criteria. Judges are selected by the Laker Effect Challenge Committee from a diverse group of community stakeholders. The GVSU department associated with the project will receive the funding and distribute it to the winner as a reimbursement.

No, the ideas that win the most votes are the ones that might advance to the presentation stage of the competition. That is all. $5,000 in total award money is decided solely by the judges once all of the presentations are heard.

Judges are looking for a project that is smart and that, with a little money, is ready for the next strategic step to be taken. Ideally the “seed” of funding for the project has an amazing capacity to grow. 

Judges are selected by the Laker Effect Challenge Committee from a diverse group of community stakeholders.

Funding will be awarded through transfer to the department which the presenter calls “home.” For example, if you are an engineering student, any awarded funding will be transferred to an account in engineering that you will then operate from.