How to participate
On this page you can find the rules, deadlines, submission and ranking procedures.
Participation rules 🚷
The competition is organized as an invited session at the WDSA/CCWI 2026 conference. Abstract submission, paper publication, and conference registration will follow the standard conference procedures and platform. Solution submission will be handled through a different workflow explained below.
- Participants may submit a solution individually or as part of a team, but each person can only be included in one team.
- A team is considered formed when an extended abstract (between 500 and 1000 words) is submitted through the conference platform. The abstract should cover the aim, methodology, and originality of the solution the team intends to develop for the competition. All individuals listed as authors in the abstract will be considered team members.
- Upon acceptance of the abstract, authors who have not yet registered through the standard conference submission will be able to register for the conference. At least one team member must register for the conference and present the work at the event. Teams that do not have at least one registered member will not be considered eligible for the competition.
- Teams whose abstracts have been accepted and who submit a solution following the competition guidelines will have the option to submit a full paper (6-8 pages) describing their methodology to be published in the conference proceedings. Full papers will be reviewed for quality, and feedback will be sent to authors for any necessary revisions. Full papers should be submitted in standard A4 paper format, following the template provided on the conference website.
More information about the conference and the abstract and paper submission are available on the conference website.
Authors are encouraged but not required to submit a regular contribution to the conference to participate in the competition.
Important dates 🗓️
- 1st September 2025 Competition announcement and website launch
Subscribe for updates and let us know if you are interested in participating!
Stage 1
- 8th December 2025 - Competition begins: Instructions and first batch of data available
- 14th January 2026 - Abstract submission deadline
- 26th January 2026 - Abstract acceptance notifications
- 6th March 2026 - First stage solution submission deadline
Stage 2
- Mid March 2026 - Second batch of data available
- Late March 2026 - Second stage solution submission deadline
Stage 3
- Late March 2026 - Third batch of data available.
- Early April 2026 - Final deadline for submission of:
- Third stage solution
- Short paper
- 18th May 2026 Conference starts! 🎉
Submitting a solution 📩
Solutions must be submitted through a form opening during submission week, using the template from the data folder on Zenodo (file named masterplan).
Participants can submit either an Excel file (simplest option with the dropdown options) or JSON/YAML files (for greater customisation and following the naming convention and structure detailed in Section 2.3 of the paper).
An open-source evaluator will be released before the first submission deadline, enabling participants to test the compatibility of their solution in advance.
Ranking 📊
Competitor solutions will be evaluated using the four metrics detailed in the problem description: economic performance, environmental impact, reliability, and fairness.
The competition consists of multiple rounds. The ranking formula will blend weighted aggregation of these metrics with multi-criteria decision-making methods, reflecting changing social priorities and societal perspectives. This formula may vary between rounds to represent how societal values and priorities shift over time.
To simulate real-world decision-making under deep uncertainty, the exact ranking formula will not be disclosed to participants before each submission deadline. However, the ranking methodology used will be revealed at the end of each round, before the next submission opens. The final winner will be announced at the conference.
Despite the multi-objective nature of the challenge, each team must submit a single solution per round, requiring participants to identify their own compromise within this complex decision space.