The Climate Corporation Challenge: Skin of the Earth

ABSTRACT

The Climate Corporation, the Seeker for this Challenge, is interested in learning about the availability of georeferenced soil databases and elevation models that can be used at field and subfield scales for parts of Europe, with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine as countries of primary interest and Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Spain as countries of secondary interest. Also of interest are similar databases for South Africa. Soil and landscape information is critical to crop health and the Seeker intends to use such information to help farmers optimize soil management and increase economic productivity.

This is an Ideation Challenge with a guaranteed award for at least one submitted solution.

OVERVIEW

Soil and landscape properties are major drivers of crop yield variability within and among fields. Soil and landscape properties also inform management practices that can be employed to optimize crop production. The Climate Corporation is interested in gaining information about available georeferenced soil databases and elevation models that can be used at the field and subfield scale for parts of Europe and in South Africa. European countries of tier 1 interest are the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine; European countries of tier 2 interest are Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Spain. While the Seeker is aware of various soil databases such as the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) SoilGrids250m global database and the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) soil database, these are designed to be used on a regional scale. The UK’s LandIS database is similar to what they are seeking for soil databases but only has coverage of England and Wales. Regarding elevation models, the Seeker is aware of the Airbus WorldDEM™ global digital elevation model but would like to identify elevation models with more accurate vertical resolution for the countries of interest.

This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique features:

• There is a guaranteed award.  The award(s) will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Seeker. The total payout will be $10,000, with at least one award being no smaller than $5,000 and no award being smaller than $1,000.

• The Solvers are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Seeker.  Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solver grants to the Seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal, including for promotional purposes.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on 12-Jan-2021. Late submissions will not be considered.

After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.

ELIGIBILITY

Employees of The Climate Corporation and Bayer Crop Sciences, as well as their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling, and their respective spouses) or persons living in the same household, whether related or not, are eligible to enter the Challenge; provided that they will not be eligible to receive an award if their Solution is chosen.  In addition, the Solutions of employees will fall under The Climate Corporation and Bayer Crop Sciences employment policies and be considered work product of The Climate Corporation and Bayer Crop Sciences.

ABOUT THE SEEKER

Climate’s mission is to help the world’s farmers sustainably increase their productivity through the use of digital tools. First launched in the U.S. in 2015, Climate FieldView is the flagship product of The Climate Corporation, the digital farming arm of Bayer. FieldView gives farmers a deeper understanding of their fields so they can make more informed operating decisions to optimize yields, maximize efficiency and reduce risk. 

What is InnoCentive?

InnoCentive is the global innovation marketplace where creative minds solve some of the world's most important problems for cash awards up to $1 million. Commercial, governmental and humanitarian organizations engage with InnoCentive to solve problems that can impact humankind in areas ranging from the environment to medical advancements.

What is an InnoCentive Ideation™ Challenge?

An InnoCentive Ideation™ Challenge is a broad question formulated to obtain access to new ideas, similar to a global brainstorm for producing a breakthrough idea or market survey which may include ideas for a new product line, a new commercial application for a current product, or even a viral marketing idea to recruit new customers. Ideation™ Challenge submissions are typically about two written pages, and Seekers receive a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use all submissions.

In an Ideation™ Challenge, Solvers may:

• Submit ideas of their own
• Submit third party information that they have the right to use and further the authority to convey that right and the right to use and develop derivative works to Seekers
• Submit information considered in the public domain without any limitations on use

Solvers should not reveal any confidential information in their submissions. Often the Ideation™ Challenge will be followed by one or more of the other three Challenge types to further develop the ideas and gain Intellectual Property protection when the concept has been well-defined.