A competition may be organised by a natural or a legal person.
Depending on the nature of the problem the competition should be organised and carried out in consultation with one or more of the competitors' representative organisations.
With regard of the objectives of the competition, it can be either
a design competition, with the objective of realising the project, where the copyright holder will be appointed to carry out the winning proposal
or
an ideas competition, where the aim is to analyse alternative solutions to a problem without any specific intention of realising the project, nor to of giving an assignment to the winner
Depending of its nature and scope a competition can be either
an open competition, open to everyone who wishes to participate
a restricted competition, open only to a limited number of invited competitors
or
a two-stage competition, the first stage being open and the second stage restricted with competitors selected from the first stage
The eligibility of entrants to a competition must be stated in the competition brief.
The following are excluded from entering a competition:
Should there be any doubt regarding eligibility, the organisation representing the entrants should be consulted, if applicable.
Note: According to the Swedish Public Procurement Act a design contest may be restricted to a specified number of competitors. The selection of competitors may not under any circumstances be limited with reference to a specific geographical territory.
A jury, responsible for the running of the competition, must be nominated. When the promoter nominates the jury members, which preferably are uneven, regard must be taken of the following stipulations.
When the competition is carried out in consultation with an organisation representing the competitors, this organisation should nominate two jury members. If more than one organisation is involved, each organisation nominates not less than one jury member. Other jury members are nominated by the promoter.
The jury must have a chairman, appointed by the promoter or by the jury itself.
Each jury member has one vote. All decisions are made on the basis of majority vote. In the case of tied vote the chairman has the casting vote.
The promoter retains a secretary to be at the disposal of the jury. The jury may also consult expert advisors.
Note: Where a particular professional qualification is required from participants in a design contest, according to the Swedish Public Procurement Act, at least a third of the jury members must have the same qualification or its equivalent.
The promoter appoints a competition administrator. The administrator is responsible for all contacts with the competitors while maintaining their anonymity.
The promoter prepares the competition brief. The brief describe the competition task, the criteria for assessment and the rights and obligations of the promoter, the jury, the competitors and the consulted organisation.
The competition brief should include:
the invitation, stating the name of the promoter, and the type and the objectives of the competition;
the assignment, including a comprehensive description of the task and of the pre-existing circumstances;
the competition rules, listing the competition documents, stating the submission requirements, the date for submission, the amount of prizes, agreements for exhibition, the conditions for assignment after the competition, etc.
The submission requirements should be proportionate to the objectives of the competition and the complexity of the problem.
The competition brief should be worded in such a way that it make the same demands of all competitors;.
The competition brief is signed by the members of the jury and, when applicable, by tha organisations representing the competitors.
Note: According to the Swedish Public Procurement Act, contracting authorities must advertise procurements over the threshold values.
Full anonymity must be maintained during the assessment of the proposals. Each proposal should be given a motto. A sealed opaque envelope containing a slip with the name of the author should attached.
Each proposal must be presented in such a way that the author remains anonymous.
The name slip must state the copyright holder of the proposal.
A restricted competition may, under special circumstances, be organised without anonymity.
Note: According to the Swedish Public Procurement Act proposals for a design contest must be submitted anonymously.
The promoter pays all the costs of running the competition.
The prize fund and/or fee is set, having regard to the nature, scope and complexity of the problem and, if applicable, in consultation with the organisation representing the competitors.
In an open competition, a prize sum is determined to cover prizes and other rewards. The jury decides on how of the prize sum is allocated.
In a restricted competition, each competitor receives the same fee. There may also be an additional prize sum for the jury to allocate. If stated in the competition brief, a special compensation for costs, variable or fixed, can be given to the competitors according to the 1996 General Rules of Agreement for Architectural and Engineering Consulting Services, §9.4.
All proposals submitted are insured by the promoter, if stated in the brief. The insurance is maintained during the evaluation period and for the return of non-premiated proposals to the competitors on conclusion of the competition.
Wherever applicable, the organisation representing the competitors is entitled to a fee, to be agreed upon before the competition is announced.
The jury shall select the winning proposal in accordance with the competition conditions as stated in the brief.
Only the members of the jury, the secretary to the jury and any retained experts may be present during the assessment sessions and must work under secrecy.
All decisions and reservations must be minuted.
A proposal shall be excluded from assessment if it:
Any material submitted with an entry, which is over and above the submission requirements as set down in the brief, shall be excluded from assessment.
A proposal which fails in a significant manor to comply with the conditions of the competition, may awarded a premium which is not taken from the prize fund.
The assessment report of the jury must include:
a general assessment, setting out the considerations of the jury with regard to functional, technical, economic and aesthetic qualities, environmental issues etc.
individual assessments, which in a restricted competition must be provided for all proposals but in an open competition may be limited to all premiated proposals.
a decision, as regards allocation of the prize fund shall be reasoned. The jury may comment or mention honorary non-premiated entries which merit recognition.
a recommendation to the promoter on the follow-up to the competition.
The jury must recommend a proposal for execution or for further elaboration, if this is not obviously inappropriate. All premiated proposals may be considered for execution or for further elaboration.
If the jury is unable to choose a winner, it may recommend that the competition is repeated with a limited number of entrants.
The envelopes containing the name-slips of the entrants may not be opened until the assessment has been completed and the jury report has been signed by the members of the jury.
Anonymity must be preserved during any competition repeated as stated in 12§.
If the author of a proposal is found to have been ineligible to enter the competition, any reward already given to them shall be withdrawn.
The promoter should encourage public debate in connection with the competition.
After announcing the results of the competition, the promoter shall arrange a public exhibition of all proposals for a period of not less than eight days. The jury report with appendices must be available during this exhibition. The organisation representing the competitors is also, where applicable, entitled to arrange an exhibition of the proposals at its own expense.
Publication rights of the proposals are free. The author's name must always be stated, when known.
The promoter retains ownership of premiated and commended competitions entry material. The authors may substitute copy material in exchange for the original.
Non-premiated or awarded proposals shall be returned to the authors after the exhibition at the promoter's expense.
The competitor holds the copyright and maintains the usufruct of the proposal. During six months following the announcement of the competition results, or any other period stipulated in the competition brief, the promoter has an option to the right of use of rewarded proposals. If no agreement has been made during this period the author has the full right of use of his proposal.
The promoter may use the overall results of the competition in his future work with the competition task, provided this is in accordance with Swedish copyright laws.
Note: The promoter sometimes gives directions to the winner on how to elaborate the winning proposal after the competition, based on the knowledge gained from the assessment of the competition entries. It is in the nature of competitions that the overall result may form a base for the future elaboration of the project. If the promoter wishes to use a specific proposal, in whole or in part, an agreement must be made between the promoter and the author for the right of use of the proposal in question.
The copyright holder of the proposal recommended by the jury for further elaboration or execution should be considered first for an assignment related to this proposal.
If, in spite of the intentions stated in the brief, the promoter fails to award a formal appointment to carry out the winning project, the author of this project shall be entitled to a remuneration, the amount of which should be stipulated in the brief.
In the event of the author of the winning proposal lacking the resources to carry out the project on his own, he should be entitled to do so in association with a colleague, chosen by himself and the promoter jointly.
If the promoter chooses not to follow the recommendations of the assessment panel regarding the follow-up of the competition, he must, wherever applicable, consult with the organisation representing the competitors.
A member of the jury, or any legal person which employs him or in which he has any legal interest, may not accept any assignment related to the competition task.
Note: According to the Swedish Public Procurement Act, a contracting authority arranging a design contest stating in the brief the intention to realise the winning project may, after the competition, negotiate the contractual terms for a further assignment with the author of this proposal only. If the jury recommends more than one proposal for further elaboration and realisation, the contracting authority shall negotiate with the authors of all those proposals.
Unless stipulated differently in the competition brief, disputes shall be settled in a public court of law.
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