The Living Lab Fund, the Student Project Fund and the SDG Thesis Award are integral components of the Sustainable Impact Program. The application and evaluation processes for these funding initiatives follow a similar framework.

1. Project managers submit their applications via the submission platform by the communicated deadlines. A coaching in advance is possible, please contact sustainable@zhaw.ch.
2. After the application deadline, ZHAW sustainable carries out a formal pre-selection of the applications received. The exclusion criteria include lack of clear reference to sustainability, no clear connection between budget planning and project design, excessive similarity to a previously funded SIP project (no repetitions), lack of transparency or traceability of the project and lack of departmental involvement (only for Living Lab projects).
3. The SIP Board assesses the submissions according to the criteria listed below. If necessary or on request, the SIP Board can call in other experts from science, business or society for evaluation.
4. The SIP Board assesses the submissions based on the criteria listed below. If necessary or on request, the SIP Board can call in other experts from science, business or society for evaluation. The Board makes the final decision on the selection of projects to be funded.
5. Once the SIP Board has made its decision, the project managers receive all the administrative details of the funding and project financing can begin at the requested time.
6. The Sustainable Impact Program should be listed as a partner of the project in all communication, ideally with a logo and web link (details will be provided in the funding confirmation).
7. On completion of the project, a final project report must be submitted which provides information on the use of the funds.

For further questions about the application process, please contact sustainable@zhaw.ch 

• Impact: Potential of the project to contribute to a sustainable transformation through Living Labs at the ZHAW (in particular through the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the 17 SDGs) and to promote a culture of sustainability at the entire university and in the region.
• Innovation: Novelty, originality and scalability of the project in the respective context.
• Interdisciplinarity: Exchange, inclusion of or cooperation with representatives of other ZHAW departments or universities, civil society, the private or public sector.
• Social: Consideration of social aspects, in particular how people and underrepresented social groups are included in the application and benefit from it. How does the project contribute to improving their life situation or social awareness? Please refer to the ZHAW Gender Policy.
• Dissemination: Dissemination and communication of the project internally and externally via channels relevant to the target groups.
• Feasibility and efficiency: Feasibility of the project and its management and use of the budget (use of funds including the School’s budget contribution for employee projects).

1. Project coordinators submit their applications via the submission platform by the communicated deadlines. Consultation is possible in advance; please contact sustainable@zhaw.ch. 
2. After the submission deadline, ZHAW sustainable carries out a formal pre-selection of the applications received. The exclusion criteria include: Lack of a clear link to sustainability, no clear link between budget planning and project design, too much similarity to a previously funded SIP project (no repetitions), lack of transparency or difficulty in understanding the project, and lack of the school’s involvement (only for staff projects).  
3. The SIP Board evaluates the submissions according to the below criteria. If necessary or upon request, the SIP Board may call in further experts from academia, business or society for the evaluation. 
4. The ZHAW's Sustainable Development Committee (SDC) reviews and approves the final selection of projects to be supported.  
5. Following approval by the SDC, the project leaders receive all administrative details and project funding can start at the requested time. 
6. The Sustainable Impact Program should be listed as a partner of the project in all communication, ideally with logo and web link (details will be provided with the confirmation of funding). An article about the project is published on the sustainable blog during or after implementation. 
7. After completion of the project, a final project report with information on the use of funds is due.  

For further questions on the application procedure, please contact sustainable@zhaw.ch.  

• Impact for Sustainable Development: Potential of the application to contribute to a sustainable transformation (especially through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs) and possibly to promote a culture of sustainability in the region and/or at the ZHAW. 
• Innovation: Novelty, originality, and scalability of the project in the respective context. 
• Interdisciplinarity: Exchange, inclusion of or collaboration with representatives of other ZHAW schools or universities, civil society, the private or public sector. 
• Social Impact: Consideration of social aspects in the proposal, especially the question of how people and socially underrepresented groups (incl. women) are included in and affected by the proposal and how their living situation or social (problem) awareness is improved. 
• Dissemination: Dissemination and communication of the project (Pillar II: incl. publications and knowledge transfer) internally and externally through channels relevant to the target groups. 
• Feasibility and Efficiency: Feasibility of the project (project management) and management of the budget (use of funds incl. budget contribution of the department for staff projects).