General questions
How do I follow the challenge and get updates?
Who can I contact if I have questions about the Energy Apps for Ontario Challenge?

Eligibility and intellectual property (IP)
Who is eligible to enter the challenge?
We are an organization. Can we enter?
I work for MaRS Discovery District and/or the Ontario Ministry of Energy. Can I enter?
Do the submitted apps have to be newly created for this competition, or can they be pre-existing applications?
Can more than one person work on an application and receive credit for it? And if the application wins, how will the funding be split among the creators?
Can my application win in more than one category?
Can I enter more than one application?
How do I compete in the Best Student App and Best App Created Outside of Ontario categories?
Will awards be in American dollars or Canadian dollars?
Do I retain intellectual property ownership?
What will MaRS Discovery District, the Ontario Ministry of Energy and ChallengePost do with my submission?

Submission requirements
What do I have to use to build my application? Where can I find it?
Can I include other APIs or datasets in my app?
Why do I have to upload a video?
Can I submit my app to an online store?

Judging process
How can I provide ChallengePost with access to test my application?

Public voting
How does public voting work?
Do I need a ChallengePost account to vote?
How do I vote?
Do tweets and Facebook likes count as votes?
Can I create more than one account to vote?
Can I pay people to vote for me?
Are votes checked for eligibility before the People’s Choice award winner is determined?
What do I do if I think someone is cheating to get more votes?

How do I follow the challenge and get updates?

When you register for the challenge, you’ll automatically be signed up to receive updates regarding the challenge. To be notified when voting begins and the winners are announced, click the “Notify Me” link. Follow us on Twitter at @ChallengePost, @MaRSDD or join the conversation with #energyapps.

Who can I contact if I have questions about the Energy Apps for Ontario Challenge?

For techinical questions about the standard or API, email energyapps@marsdd.com. For general questions about the challenge, send an email to Support@ChallengePost.com.

Who is eligible to enter the contest?

The challenge is open to individuals and teams of individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry, and who are residents of the United States and/or Canada (excluding Quebec). The challenge is also open to legally registered corporations or organizations of the United States and/or Canada (excluding Quebec).

Ontario residents may compete for the Gold, Silver, Bronze, Best Student App and People’s Choice categories. Non-Ontario residents may compete in the Best App Created Outside of Ontario category.

We are an organization. Can we enter?

Organizations that are domiciled in the United States and/or Canada (excluding Quebec) may enter and participate in the challenge. However, organizations that are not domiciled in Ontario are only eligible in the Best App Created Outside of Ontario category.

I work for MaRS Discovery District and/or the Ontario Ministry of Energy. Can I enter?

Employees or contractors of MaRS Discovery District, the Ontario Ministry of Energy or Affinity who support or maintain the competition or the required Green Button “Connect My Data” standard API as part of their employment or contractual responsibilities aren’t allowed to enter the challenge. All other MaRS Discovery District, Ontario Ministry of Energy or Affinity Systems Limited employees and contractors are eligible.

Do the submitted apps have to be newly created for this competition, or can they be pre-existing applications?

A submission must either be a new application or a pre-existing application. If your application was not newly created for the competition, it mustn’t have previously included the Green Button “Connect My Data” standard API and must include new features and functionality added after October 1, 2013.

Applications that were publicly accessible prior to the start of the competition submission period and that haven’t been substantially modified to use Ontario’s Green Button “Connect My Data” standard API are not eligible.

Can more than one person work on an application and receive credit for it? And if the application wins, how will the funding be split among the creators?

Yes, teams are encouraged to enter the challenge. If a team of individuals or an organization is selected as an award winner, the full funding amount will be sent to the submitter (considered the team or organization’s representative). It is up to the submitter to allocate the funding money among the team members, as deemed appropriate.

Can my application win in more than one category?

Yes, all submissions entered by eligible individuals, teams of individuals and organizations that are residents of, or based in, Ontario who compete for the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, or the Best Student App award, can also compete for the People’s Choice award. Winners of the Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards are not eligible for the Best Student App award. The Best App Created Outside of Ontario category is open only to non-Ontario residents. See the Official Rules for details.

Can I enter more than one application?

Yes. There’s no limit to how many submissions an eligible person, team or organization may enter. An individual may also participate on behalf of more than one team, corporation or non-profit organization. However, if you submit two or more applications that are identical or substantially similar, MaRS Discovery District and/or ChallengePost reserves the right to disqualify all the submissions or require you to choose one submission to enter into the competition.

How do I compete in the Best Student App and Best App Created Outside of Ontario categories?

If you’re an Ontario resident and a university student, or a team comprised of a majority of university students, and you want to compete in the Best App by a University Student category, you must indicate this on your submission form by selecting “Yes” when answering the question, “Are you entering the challenge as university student, or team of university students?” You must also indicate which university you attend. Organizations are not eligible in this category.

In order to compete in the Best App Created Outside of Ontario category, your entire team must not be residents of Ontario and you must select “No” when answering the question, "Are you a resident of / domiciled in Ontario?”

Will awards be in American dollars or Canadian dollars?

All awards will be paid in Canadian dollars.

Do I retain intellectual property ownership?

Yes. By submitting an application to the contest, you don’t transfer any intellectual property rights to MaRS Discovery District, the Ontario Ministry of Energy or ChallengePost. MaRS Discovery District, the Ontario Ministry of Energy and ChallengePost will have the right to feature all applications entered in the competition for promotional purposes. See the Official Rules for details.

What will MaRS Discovery District, the Ontario Ministry of Energy and ChallengePost do with my submission?

MaRS Discovery District, the Ontario Ministry of Energy and ChallengePost will have the right to publicly display or link to your submission on the challenge website and other websites. They will also be allowed to publicize your name in connection with the submission and the challenge during the competition and for 36 months after its conclusion. For more information on publicity rights, please see the Official Rules.

What do I have to use to build my application? Where can I find it?

Your app must use the Green Button “Connect My Data” standard API and should help consumers manage their energy consumption by allowing them to engage directly with their electricity consumption data.

To sign up for access to the Green Button “Download My Data” standard, the Green Button “Connect My Data” standard API, the Green Button Connect My Data Ontario Reference Architecture and the Green Button Connect My Data Test Lab for Ontario, please visit the Resources page.

Can I include other APIs or datasets in my app?

Yes. You may use additional APIs and datasets in conjunction with the Green Button “Connect My Data” standard API, as long as you’re authorized to use and distribute them.

Why do I have to upload a video?

The People’s Choice award is determined by public voting. A video helps ensure that all users can view and experience your application.

The video will also be helpful to the panel of judges; submissions may be judged on the submitted video alone. You may create a screencast, use a handheld video camera to make your video or choose any other method that demonstrates the functionality of the working app.

Can I submit my app to an online store?

No, apps entered in the challenge should not be submitted to an online store. You must provide access to your app for testing and judging, either by providing a URL where judges can access or download the app, uploading an installation file or sharing a test build via TestFlight (for iOS apps). Apps may be submitted to online stores after the challenge.

How can I provide ChallengePost with access to test my application?

For the challenge, you must provide a way for us to test your application. Inclusion of the Green Button “Connect My Data” API will be verified by connecting the submitted app with the simulated Data Custodian in the Test Lab environment. Please allow us to test using one of the following methods.

Android Applications: Upload an .apk file in the submission form or provide a link for us to download your app in the “Testing Instructions” field on the submission form.

iOS Applications: Send us a link to download your app or send it to us via TestFlight. Enter our email address and UDID to share a build with us for testing. Our TestFlight account email is: Testing@ChallengePost.com.

Our UDIDs are:
iPad (iOS 6.0.1) 6a2cb1d4ba2d242db1db48c59c91744cebfc68a9
iPhone 4 (iOS 9b208) d6d3f69fde72561928c0fd7c541ea1511acf7729
iPhone 5 (iOS 7.0.3) FFFFFFFF26215018FB74452D9E4C5C8BF68612C3

Windows Phone applications: Upload an .xap file in the submission form or provide a link for us to download your app in the “Testing Instructions” field on the submission form.

Windows PC: Upload the appropriate installation files (.exe) in the submission form or provide a link for us to download your .exe file in the “Testing Instructions” field on the submission form.

BlackBerry: Upload the appropriate installation files in the submission form or provide a link for us to download your installation file in the “Testing Instructions” field on the submission form.

Mac OS: Upload the appropriate installation files in the submission form or provide a link for us to download your installation file in the “Testing Instructions” field on the submission form.

Web/Mobile Web: Provide a link for us to access your app on the “Testing Instructions” field on the submission form.

How does public voting work?

Visitors to the site can vote for as many submissions as they like, but no more than once for a single submission. At the end of the public voting period, the votes will be tallied and verified to determine the People’s Choice award winner.

Do I need a ChallengePost account to vote?

Yes. Before you can vote for a submission, please sign up or log in to your ChallengePost account.

How do I vote?

Log in to your confirmed ChallengePost account, go to the submission you’d like to vote for, and then click on the VOTE button to vote.

Do tweets and Facebook likes count as votes?

No, they don’t.

Can I create more than one account to vote?

No, the use of multiple email addresses or any form of automated vote processes will disqualify all votes from the person.

You may not pay or otherwise compensate anyone or provide any other type of consideration in exchange for votes.

We take the integrity of the competition extremely seriously, and verify all votes using a variety of methods before a People’s Choice award winner is determined.

What do I do if I think someone is cheating to get more votes?

Send us an email at support@challengepost.com and include a link to the submission in question.