Creatives Encouraged to Apply for 2026 National Innovation Awards

Persons in the creative industries are being encouraged to apply for the 2026 National Innovation Awards.

The awards celebrate Jamaican innovation and recognise functional solutions with measurable or potential national impact.

Principal Director of Science at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Dr. Natwaine Gardner, said the awards have expanded, moving from a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM).

“STEAM … incorporates the creative industries as well [which are] critical in the innovation ecosystem, and many different persons [in artistic fields] who think differently, they come up with different ideas and we want to recognise that as part of innovation. We don’t want to exclude them,” she said.

Dr. Gardner was speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, held at the Agency’s Television Department, 5-9 South Odeon Avenue, in Kingston.

The National Innovation Awards recognise outstanding innovations across nine categories, including Food Systems, Agriculture and Bioproduction, Energy, Climate Resilience and Environmental Solutions and Manufacturing.

It also covers the areas of Engineering and Industrial Solutions; Digital Transformation and Information and Communications Technology; Health, Wellness and Social Innovation; Creative Industries, Tourism and Cultural Innovation; and Education, Skills and Human Capital Development.

Dr. Gardner said the awards are being held under the theme, ‘Science Solves’, with the application deadline set for September 14, 2026.

“Applications are live and open on the OPM website. If you go to opm.gov.jm there is a tab that says innovation awards and you have both the national medal and the National Innovation Awards where you can start the application process,” she said.

“We’ve made it very user friendly so persons can go and start the application. If they realise they don’t have something to complete the application, they can pause it, get the information, come back and complete it, but it is very important that this is done by September 14,” she said.

Persons are required to complete and submit an application that solves a real problem, features a functional or demonstrable innovation and showcases originality or innovative adaptation and measurable impact.

The application should also demonstrate growth potential and should not infringe on intellectual property rights.

For details, persons can click here to access the application page.