The Creativity Prize is not restricted to specific topics. Instead, its criteria are defined by general guidelines. This allows the Creativity Prize to cover a broad range of water-related subjects.  

The Creativity Prize is awarded to an innovator or pioneer in any water-related field whose work can rightfully be considered a "breakthrough". The work might be an invention, a research paper, a new technology, or a development project. It can relate to any branch of any water-related discipline. What matters is its importance and originality, and that it achieves something significant. For instance, it might contribute to increasing available water resources, or to alleviating scarcity, or to minimizing pollution. It might make a material contribution to water conservation or to effective water management.

Moreover, the work should provide a solution which is useful to society, contribute to development and social upliftment, be practical, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective.

Note: Nominations for the Creativity Prize must be made by a university, institution, or government agency, which may nominate individuals to the Prize. Individuals may not nominate themselves or others for the Creativity Prize.

The topic for each of the four specialized branches of the Prize vary with each award. As a rule, the topics are selected for each round in consideration of the most pressing water-related issues faced anywhere in the world. More emphasis, however, is placed on the concerns of arid regions, since the problems in these areas are more widespread and serious. 

The topics for the current award are as follows:

• 1st Branch – Surface Water
  
  Topic: Innovative Methods for Rain and Runoff Water Modeling
  
  
• 2nd Branch – Groundwater
  
  Topic: Assessment and Control of Radioactive Contamination in Groundwater
  
  
• 3rd Branch – Alternative (non-traditional) Water Resources
  
  Topic: Innovative Methods for Water Production from Non-Traditional Water Resources
  
  
• 4th Branch – Water Resources Management and Protection
  
  Topic: Remote Sensing and GIS Applications for Water Resources Management

1. All nominations for the 4th Award of the Prize are to be made online through an electronic application form that is available on the PSIPW website. All required documentation and submitted works will be uploaded by way of the same form. No mail-in applications will be accepted.
   
   
2. Nominations may be made for individuals and groups whose work conforms to the criteria of the Creativity Prize (see 'Prize Topics' above). 
   
   
3. An individual or group of individuals (a team working on the same project or research) may be nominated for the prize. In the event that a group of individuals are being nominated, all group members must be named at the time of application and one member must be specified as their representative. Groups of people working on the same project may not be nominated separately. They must be nominated as a group with a single nomination form.
   
   
4. A university, institution, or government agency is not eligible to be nominated for the Creativity Prize. The nominee must be an individual or group of individuals as detailed in 1.2 above.  
   
   
5.  Nominations for the Creativity Prize must be made by a university, institution, or government agency. Individuals may not nominate themselves or others for the Creativity Prize. 
   
   
6. The work or works being considered for the nomination must have been completed no more than five (5) years prior to the nomination deadline for the current Prize.  
   
   
7. Published research papers, published books, and registered patents may be submitted for consideration. No more than five (5) distinct works may be submitted. Multiple works should not be collected together and submitted as a single work. 
   
   
8.  Works will be reviewed and judged in English. If the work being nominated was originally published in a language other than English, it must be submitted in the original language accompanied by a full translation or by a translation of the parts of the work that are to be considered for the Prize. If a partial English translation is provided for a work submitted in another language, then only that portion of the work which is translated will be considered for assessment. 
   
   
9. An individual or group nominated for the Creativity Prize may not be nominated in the same round for a Specialized Branch Prize.
   
   
10. The work being nominated must not have previously been a recipient of any other international prize.
    
    
11. Members of the Prize committees and their immediate relatives may not be nominated for the Prize.
    
    

1. All nominations for the 4th Award of the Prize are to be made online through an electronic application form that is available on the PSIPW website. All required documentation and submitted works will be uploaded by way of the same form. No mail-in applications will be accepted. 
   
   
2. Nominations may be made for individuals, groups, and organizations who have made a pioneering contribution in of the branches of the Prize (see 'Prize Topics' above). 
   
   
3. An individual, group of individuals (a team working on the same project or research), or organization may nominate themselves for the prize. In the event that a group of individuals are being nominated, all group members must be named at the time of application and one member must be specified as their representative. Groups of people working on the same project may not be nominated separately. They must be nominated as a group with a single nomination form. 
   
   
4. The work or works being considered for the nomination must have been completed no more than five (5) years prior to the nomination deadline for the current Prize. 
   
   
5. Published research papers, published books, and registered patents may be submitted for consideration. No more than five (5) distinct works may be submitted. Multiple works should not be collected together and submitted as a single work. All works submitted for consideration must be related to the particular specialized branch chosen for the nomination. 
   
   
6. Works will be reviewed and judged in English. If the work being nominated was originally published in a language other than English, it must be submitted in the original language accompanied by a full translation or by a translation of the parts of the work that are to be considered for the Prize. If a partial English translation is provided for a work submitted in another language, then only that portion of the work which is translated will be considered for assessment. 
   
   
7. An individual, group, or organization nominated for a particular branch of the Prize may not be nominated in the same round for another Specialized Branch Prize or for the Creativity Prize.  
   
   
8. The work being nominated must not have previously been a recipient of any other international prize.   
   
   
9. Members of the Prize committees and their immediate relatives may not be nominated for the Prize.