How the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Is Judged

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

At the U.S. national level, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize is judged on six criteria, each scored from 1 to 5 and multiplied by a weight, for a maximum of 115 points. Relevance carries the most weight at five times, followed by Creativity, Methodology and Report and Presentation at four times each, and Subject Knowledge and Practical Skills at three times each.

Below is what that means in points, what each criterion is looking at, and how to write a paper that scores well on all six.

The six criteria in points

Criterion	Weight	Most points possible
Relevance	x5	25
Creativity	x4	20
Methodology	x4	20
Report and Presentation	x4	20
Subject Knowledge	x3	15
Practical Skills	x3	15
Total		115

The weights change what a single point is worth. Moving up one step on Relevance adds 5 points. The same step on Subject Knowledge adds 3.

Relevance alone is 25 of the 115 points, more than a fifth of the total.

Relevance: does it matter for water?

Relevance asks whether the project takes on an important challenge in the water environment, and whether it could improve the environment or people’s quality of life.

That ties straight to the entry rules. Projects are meant to improve water quality, water resources management, or water and wastewater treatment, and the problem can be local, regional, national or global.

The national paper guidelines show where judges look for it. The Discussion should explain how the results matter to the water problem you chose, and whether a local or national agency, or the people living with the problem, could use them.

A clever experiment with a vague link to water will lose points here. Name the problem, and say who would care about your result.

Creativity, Methodology, Subject Knowledge, Report and Presentation

For these four, WEF’s paper guidelines and entry rules give the clearest picture of what strong work looks like.

Creativity. The guidelines ask the Discussion to say how new the results are and how they compare with what others found. If you are testing an applied solution, refer to earlier work and name the gap you fill.

Methodology. WEF asks for methods scientists accept for experimentation, monitoring and reporting, including statistical analysis. The judges’ advice also pushes cause and effect. Their example is a survey of an overgrown, nutrient-loaded lake, which on its own ranks low, but adding the causes and how monitoring would improve management makes it much stronger.

Subject Knowledge. The guidelines tell students to show they read the literature. At nationals, judges also look at the project ownership and knowledge a student shows in the video presentation.

Report and Presentation. WEF says that “unlike other science competitions, this competition weighs the quality of the scientific research paper much more heavily than the poster presentation.” The paper is the entry, so the format rules, the abstract and the numbered conclusions all count.

Practical Skills: who did the work?

Practical Skills asks what help parents, teachers and professionals gave, and whether the student carried out the measurements.

This is where the student doing the work shows on the page. The guidelines ask the acknowledgements to say clearly how much outside help you had, and to show that you did the research and the writing yourself.

Be specific. Say which measurements you took and how, and who helped with what. Honest acknowledgements are not a weakness; vague ones invite questions.

How state judging differs

At the state level, a panel of water professionals picks the best project in each state. They work from the papers and, in some cases, from interviews at science fairs. Each state chooses one winner.

The paper rules are looser at state, with no specific guidelines beyond a 2MB file limit. State winners then face the national criteria and paper guidelines, so it makes sense to write to the national standard from your first draft.

A judge’s view

Dr. Harman Brah, a physician on our team, is a judge at the California Science & Engineering Fair. A few things he sees again and again carry over to SJWP:

• Judges reward a student who can explain why each choice was made, not the most advanced technique.
• One clear question with real data beats an ambitious project with no result.
• Controls and honest statistics are where most projects lose points.
• A project that looks parent- or mentor-built is seen through quickly.

That last point matters twice here, because Practical Skills scores it directly and the national video tests it again.

Putting it together

Start with a water problem you can explain in a sentence, since Relevance is worth the most. Collect real data with sound methods and statistics. Then write a Discussion that ties your result back to that problem and to the people or agencies who could use it.

A mentor can help sharpen the question, check the statistics and push on the Discussion. The student runs the work, writes the paper, and should be able to explain every choice in it without a script.

See our science fair and research mentorship, or read how to defend lab research in front of judges.

FAQ

What is the most important judging criterion for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize?

Relevance. It is weighted five times, so it is worth up to 25 of the 115 points. Judges ask whether the project tackles an important water challenge and could improve the environment or quality of life.

How many points is the SJWP scored out of?

At nationals, 115. Each of the six criteria gets a score from 1 to 5, which is multiplied by its weight.

Does the poster matter for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize?

Much less than the paper. WEF says the competition weighs the research paper far more heavily than the poster, which sets it apart from most science fairs.

Will my child lose points for getting help from a mentor?

Help is allowed, but it has to be honest and stated. The Practical Skills criterion asks what help parents, teachers and professionals gave and whether the student took the measurements, and the acknowledgements should say how much help there was.

Do state judges use the same criteria?

The six weighted criteria come from WEF’s national judging document. State winners are picked by a panel of water professionals from the papers and sometimes interviews, so writing to the national criteria from the start is the safe choice.