The “Polish Product of the Future” competition is aimed at promoting and disseminating innovative products and technologies. It also helps change attitudes and raise awareness of the need to implement innovative ideas, and of the benefits of collaboration between the R&D sector and business.

The Competition is organised by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and its honorary patron is the Minister of Economy.

Over 800 innovative projects have competed during the 19-year history of the “Polish Product of the Future” competition. These include new ideas in various technology sectors, including medicine, pharmaceuticals, electronics and chemical products in particular. To date, 49 prizes and 101 distinctions have been awarded by the Competition Jury.

Many products developed from the awarded innovations have been successfully launched on the Polish and international markets. The Competition’s winners include companies currently traded on the NewConnect stock market, which is dedicated to young, modern companies with high growth potential.

Many winners come from leading research organisations that have an A+ scientific category according to the classification system of the Polish Committee for Evaluation of Scientific Organisations.

Entities that are eligible to enter the Competition include research organisations and entrepreneurs from EU Member States and consortia between the two.

Since the beginning the Competition has been free of charge. New and innovative products or technologies can be submitted in one of three categories:

• product of the future developed by a scientific organisation
• product of the future developed by an entrepreneur
• product of the future developed by a consortium consisting of scientific organisation and entrepreneur

In each category, one prize and a number of The “Polish Product of the Future” distinctions are awarded for products:

• in the pre-implementation phase (product before launch)
• in the post-implementation phase – launched between 12 and 21 months prior to being entered into the Competition (launched product).

The Winners of the “Polish Product of the Future” receive a trophy as well as a certificate, and may use the logo and slogan of the “Polish Product of the Future” for their promotional purposes. The prizes include PARP’s support in product promotion through:

• a stand at national and international innovation fairs and exhibitions,
• a listing in the (Polish-English) catalogue of competition winners, which is widely distributed in Poland and abroad through Polish diplomatic posts,
• a listing on the Innovation Portal run by PARP (www.pi.gov.pl),
• presentations and/or interviews with the awarded innovators during conferences, seminars, radio and TV programmes on innovation.

According to the Competition Rules, special prizes are awarded for the following types of projects:

• a project entered by a spin-off company,
•  an ICT project,
• a project related to eco-innovation or other technology fields identified during the assessment of entered projects.

Each year, other special prizes may be awarded at the organiser´s discretion, depending of the current economic and market priorities.

Every year, PARP enters some projects awarded under the “Polish Product of the Future” for other contests (such as the Business Award of the President of Poland, and the Polish Promotional Brand Competition “Teraz Polska”) later on. They often win.