The Ranking
Round 1
The initial pass of the nominations by the selection committee eliminates all technologies that don’t meet the criteria or don’t have a realistic potential of being ranked in the top 15. The moderators name each technology and ask panel members to vote “yes” or “no” to move the technology to the next round. One “yes” vote is enough to advance the technology.
Round 2
The moderators describe the candidate technology, pointing out salient points, and then ask for comments from committee members. After a discussion of the pros and cons of the technology, panel members vote A, B, or C with a raise of the hand. Innovation staff record the voting.
A. It’s highly probable that the technology will significantly influence the selected field within the next 18 months.
B. It’s probable that the technology will significantly influence the selected field within the next 18 months.
C. It’s not likely that the technology will significantly influence the selected field within the next 18 months.
Round 3
Each surviving technology earns a score with overall rank tied to the size of the score—i.e., the higher the score, the better. Innovation staff report this initial ranking of all technologies.