Prizes

There will be five (5) cash Prizes available to be won.

First (1^st) Place Prize

$20,000 Canadian

• Team of three (3) students: One (1) $6,667 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,
• Team of four (4) students: One (1) $5,000 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,

Second (2^nd) Place Prize

$10,000 Canadian

• Team of three (3) students: One (1) $3,333 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member, or
• Team of four (4) students: One (1) $2,500 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member

Runner-up Prizes

There will be three (3) runner-up Prizes of $5,000 per Team. Each Team Member will receive the following:

• Team of three (3) students: One (1) $1,667 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member, or
• Team of four (4) students: One (1) $1,250 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member

Prizes must be accepted as described in these rules and cannot be transferred to another person or substituted for another prize. Any substitution of a Prize, in whole or in part, is at the sole discretion of Royal Bank of Canada. In the event that a Program Team (as described in Section 9) wins the Challenge, the prize shall be divided and awarded equally to each of the Program Team Members.

How to Enter

1) All Teams must register for the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge™ (the "Challenge") during the Registration Period, as defined in section 5, by fully completing the online registration form. All Teams must submit their entry during the Submission Period, as defined in section 5, through the Challenge website (www.nextgreatinnovator.com). If necessary, a team may change a maximum of two team members throughout the Registration Period and the Submission Period, as defined in section 6. However, only one change will be permitted per team during the Submission Period. Any change to Team membership during either the Registration Period or the Submission Period must be sent in writing to nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com and received no later than the end of the Submission Period.

2) All submissions must be in Microsoft Word format and no longer than 2,500 (two thousand, five hundred) words.

3) Submissions can be made in either English or French and the judging panels will include bilingual members. French submissions will be translated into English at our expense by an independent translator for judging panel members who are not bilingual.

4) All sections of the submission form below excluding the Appendices are mandatory. Aside from the Disclaimer section which is a condition for entering this Challenge, the descriptions of each section are for guideline purposes only.

5) Teams can collaborate with non team members to review and gain input about their ideas. Any ideas that are derived from these collaborations and are included in the submission are assumed to be the original work of the Team Members who have registered for the Challenge.

Disclaimer

By entering this Challenge, all Team Members certify that:

• the ideas submitted are original work and that they are the creators;
• they accept that the ideas submitted are being submitted on a non-confidential basis and that the contents of the Team Profile (optional) and Peer Voting synopsis, if applicable, may be edited and posted to a website without further compensation;
• they are permitted to disclose the ideas submitted;
• participants acknowledge that disclosure of the ideas submitted may impact their legal rights to protect their ideas; and
• all trademarks and copyrighted material have been properly acknowledged.

Team Members also acknowledge that Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries may already be in the process of independent development and innovation for various products and services and therefore any disclosure of information or ideas submitted by Teams may not be new to Royal Bank of Canada or its affiliates or subsidiaries and would not affect or impair its proprietary rights to its own innovation.

Peer Voting Synopsis

Provide a synopsis of your idea in 250 words or less. If your Team is selected as one of the (5) entries chosen for peer voting, the synopsis provided will be the basis of the summary posted on the peer voting interface at www.nextgreatinnovator.com. If the Team idea is not selected as a peer voting candidate, the synopsis will not be used. The synopsis does not count towards the 2,500 word limit for the Team's submission.

Executive Summary

Provide a brief summary that clearly articulates the essence of the submission. Include a description of the innovation and implementation plan that Canadian financial institutions should consider to transform the workplace.

Description of the Proposed Innovation

"Suggest innovative methods or tactics to transform the workplace to match the needs of an evolving and increasingly diverse work environment."

When developing your idea, here are some things you may want to consider:

What is the impact of your Innovation? Is it to:

• How do you create collaboration and meaningful connections across a multi-generational and/or increasingly, diverse workforce?
• What technologies will be needed to navigate the evolution of the workplace? What cultural shifts must occur?
• How do those characteristics and needs relate to work as it is? As it will be?
• How will your proposal create value for employees, clients and the enterprise?
  • i.e. through efficiency, employee effectiveness, diversity, cost control?
• Does your innovative idea and plan:
  • Target a specific portion of the workforce?
  • Target a specific line of business or functional area?
  • Create competitive advantage?

Implementation Plan

How would you implement this idea today? What are the key things that should be considered for development and implementation of this idea? What are the potential challenges in bringing this idea to an enterprise or work place? What are the potential barriers that should be considered? How can these be overcome?

Appendices

Appendices that are directly related to the idea submission may be included. Appendices do not count towards the 2,500 word limit for the Team's submission.

6) Registration starts on Wendesday September 23, 2009 9:00 AM ET and closes on Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 11:59 PM ET (the "Registration Period"). Only those registered during the Registration Period may proceed to the submission phase of the Challenge. The Challenge submission period starts on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 12:01 AM ET and ends on Sunday, December 6, 2009 11:59 PM ET (the "Submission Period"). The top four (4) finalists and peer voting candidates as selected by RBC and which selections are deemed final and not open to appeal, will be announced on Monday, January 20, 2009. The Peer Voting Period will follow. Challenge registrants who submit entries will be notified of voting start and end dates for Peer Voting. Final evaluation of the top five (5) teams by RBC will be held in early March 2010 (dates TBA). The winner's presentation ceremony will be held in early March 2010 (dates TBA). Both the final evaluation and awards presentation will be held in Toronto, Canada.

Who can Enter

7) This Challenge is open to only students (undergraduates or graduates, part time or full time) registered at a Canadian University or College at the opening of the Challenge. To be eligible all teams must be registered online at www.nextgreatinnovator.com before the Registration period end date, November 1, 2009. Any team members who are under the age of majority in the province or territory in which they reside must have a parent or legal guardian sign and submit a consent to participation and an acknowledgement and acceptance to be bound by the Rules of the Challenge prior to submission of the proposal.

8) Subject to Section 9, Teams must consist of a minimum of three (3) or a maximum of four (4) students. Only one entry per Team will be accepted. There are no limitations to the number of Teams a school can submit. Each person can only be on one Team. If a student is on more than one Team, all of the student's Team entries will be disqualified. If necessary, a Team may change a maximum of two Team Members throughout the Registration Period and the Submission Period, as defined in section 6. However, only one change will be permitted per team during the Submission Period. Any change to Team membership during either the Registration Period or the Submission Period must be sent in writing to nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com and received no later than the end of the Submission Period.

9) Exemptions to the minimum and maximum team membership requirements set out in Section 8 may be given, on a case by case basis, when a Canadian University or College class or program adopts the Challenge as part of the class or program curriculum. In such cases, a Team may consist of working groups greater than four (4) but less than six (6), only if the working group members are assigned by the school program administration, and not voluntary or optional. In the case of a Program Team winning a prize, the prize total value will be divided equally among the team members as set out in the Prizes section below. To obtain an exemption the sponsoring professor or instructor must contact RBC NGI program administration in writing at nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com indicating the intent to adopt the challenge as an element in a class or program curriculum. The sponsoring professor or instructor must also indicate that the working groups are assigned by the school program administration and are in no way optional to the students. As set out in Section 5, instructors and professors may review ideas and provide input to the Team, however they shall not be a member of the Team and all Team members must certify all work submitted is original work originating exclusively from the Team members.

Program Team Prizing:

Only in the case of a Program Team consisting of 5 or 6 team members, prizes will be distributed as below. Program teams of 3 or 4 will follow the distribution as outlined in the Prizing section above.

First (1^st) Place Prize

$20,000 Canadian

• Team of five (5) students: $4000 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,(This is only for Program Teams, pursuant to section 9), or
• Team of six (6) students: $3334 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,(This is only for Program Teams, pursuant to section 9).

Second (2^nd) Place Prize

$10,000 Canadian

• Team of five (5) students: $2000 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,(This is only for Program Teams, pursuant to section 9), or
• Team of six (6) students: $1667 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,(This is only for Program Teams, pursuant to section 9).

Runner-up Prizes

There will be three (3) runner-up Prizes of $5,000 per Team. Each Team Member will receive the following:

• Team of five (5) students: $1000 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,(This is only for Program Teams, pursuant to section 9), or
• Team of six (6) students: $834 cheque Canadian will be awarded to each Team Member,(This is only for Program Teams, pursuant to section 9).

10) Directors, officers, employees and agents of Royal Bank of Canada, their immediate family members and respective partners, affiliates, divisions and subsidiaries, and all persons with whom they are domiciled, are not eligible to participate in this Challenge.

Competition Evaluation

11) Evaluation Criteria (weighting of criteria is subject to change):

JUDGING CRITERIA

The Peer Voting synopsis is excluded from the judging criteria and will only be used in the case of the Team's entry being selected as a peer voting candidate. The following criteria will be used by the RBC Judges in reaching their decisions which are final and conclusive on all matters without right of appeal.

Executive Summary

• Is the executive summary clear and effective as a stand alone section?
• Does the executive summary clearly articulate the essence of the submission?

Description of the Future State of the Workplace

• Does the plan provide a clear description of the financial services work environment, including supporting evidence/ indicators?
• Does the plan provide a description of the workforce of the future, including supporting evidence/ indicators?

Description of the Proposed Innovation

• Does the idea take into consideration the trends and change factors in the current environment?
• Does it take into consideration the current and future nature of competition? Technology? Service?
• How well does the idea identify the impact on all demographics?
• Does the idea have proprietary features that will provide competitive advantage?
• Is the research and analysis evident in the idea description?
• Is there adequate detail in the idea?
• Does it show a clear understanding of the elements that need to be addressed?

Implementation Plan

• Is the implementation plan realistic?
• Does the plan consider the impact of competitors or new entrants?
• Does the plan provide a clear description of the critical issues that need to be resolved to move forward with implementation?
• Is the plan consistent with the overall concept set forth in the idea concept?

Originality and Creativity of Idea

• Has the idea been thoroughly developed?
• Is the idea original and/ or creative?
• Are the ideas unique and innovative?

Overall Viability

• Is the idea feasible overall?
• Are the assumptions reasonable and realistic?
• Could the idea be implemented by RBC?
• Is there market opportunity and success potential to move forward with the idea?

12) First Evaluation:

All submissions will be evaluated by the RBC Applied Innovation team, consisting of Royal Bank of Canada employees from a range of business backgrounds, based on the pre-determined evaluation criteria (section 11). Evaluations will be based on the written submission alone. The top fifteen (15) submissions will be identified and forwarded to a panel of RBC executives for secondary evaluation.

13) Second Evaluation:

The top fifteen (15) submissions will be reviewed by a panel of RBC executives, consisting of senior Royal Bank of Canada employees from a range of business backgrounds. Evaluations will be based on the written submission alone using the pre-determined evaluation criteria (section 11). The RBC Innovation Council will select four (4) of the five (5) finalists. They will also select five (5) additional Teams that will be eligible for peer voting which peer voting will determine the fifth (5th) finalist, subject to the terms of section 14.

14) Peer Evaluation:

The five (5) Teams selected by the RBC panel for peer voting will be posted to the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge website (www.nextgreatinnovator.com) with each Team's peer voting synopsis. Voting will be open to anyone who visits the website. Users will be asked to select one (1) from the five (5) Teams. Only Challenge registrants who submit entries will be notified of the voting period.

The Team that receives the greatest number of legitimate votes in the opinion of RBC, which decision is final and not subject to appeal, within the specified voting period will be declared the 5th finalist. At the conclusion of the peer voting period, the peer voted finalist Team, together with the other four (4) selected finalist Teams will be posted to the website and the Team notified of their selection to compete at the final evaluation.

Voting will be monitored for irregularities and suspicious voting patterns/methods and such votes will be scrubbed from the final vote count. If RBC determines that the peer evaluation process cannot run as anticipated for any reason, including because of voting irregularities or intentional interference with the legitimate operation of the website, the panel of RBC judges will make the final determination of the 5th finalist submission.

Teams may promote the fact that their submission has been chosen as a finalist and encourage fair voting for their submission.

15) Final Evaluation:

The top five (5) Teams will be brought to Toronto, Canada, at the expense of Royal Bank of Canada, for the final evaluation by the RBC Executive Judging Panel (section 16). Teams will have fifteen (15) minutes to present their idea to the RBC Executive Judging Panel and will have fifteen (15) minutes for Q&A with the panel. Final presentations must be in Microsoft PowerPoint and no longer than 10 pages (including title page). Simultaneous translation will be provided at the expense of Royal Bank of Canada for all French presentations for judging panel members who are not bilingual. Team Members are permitted to introduce new information and/ or insights during the final presentations. Evaluations will be based on both the written submissions and presentations using the pre-determined evaluation criteria (section 11). ALL TEAM MEMBERS MUST ATTEND THE WINNERS' PRESENTATION CEREMONY. IF ALL TEAM MEMBERS ARE NOT IN ATTENDANCE THE TEAM MAY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. Refer to section 6 for the timing of the winners' presentation ceremony.

16) In order to be declared a winner, a Team must meet all the conditions described in these Rules and Regulations. The winning Team Members, and in the case of minors a parent or legal guardian, agree to complete and sign an Assignment, Release & Indemnity Form (section 18).

Final Evaluation Judges

17) The RBC Executive Judging Panel will be made up of Royal Bank of Canada Executives.

Assignment of Rights to Submission

18) By entering the Contest, you irrevocably and exclusively assign all proprietary rights including copyrights in the submission, without limitation of time, place, medium, support or language and waive all moral right to the submission. As a condition of accepting a Prize in this Challenge, the winning Team Members agree to sign a Declaration of Compliance with the Rules and an Assignment, Release and Indemnity Form, assigning all rights to their submission to Royal Bank of Canada, including all copyrights and moral rights and releasing Royal Bank of Canada, its affiliates and respective advertising and promotions agencies from any liability in connection with this Challenge or the Prizes awarded.

Other Matters

19) No responsibility is assumed by Royal Bank of Canada, its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies, its respective directors, officers, employees and assigns, for any disruption to telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software or failure of any entry to be received because of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, as well as lost, incomplete, destroyed, misdirected, illegible or late entries which for any reason are not received.

20) Submissions shall not be returned to Team Members.

21) All decisions regarding this Contest and the selection of the winning Teams remain with the Royal Bank of Canada and its promotional agencies and are final

22) No Prize substitutions will be made, except for the right of Royal Bank of Canada to make a Prize substitution of equivalent or greater value in the event the Prizes, or any portion thereof, are unavailable for reasons beyond Royal Bank of Canada's control.

23) Royal Bank of Canada, its affiliates and respective advertising and promotions agencies are not responsible for printing, distribution or production errors and may terminate or withdraw this Challenge, subject to the approval of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux du Quebec, without individual notice and without liability at their sole discretion.

24) Royal Bank of Canada, subject to the approval of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux du Quebec, reserves the right to modify or cancel this Challenge in the event of technical corruption, virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or any other technical problems, which may arise from time-to-time beyond the control of Royal Bank of Canada, destroying the integrity of this Challenge. No liability or responsibility is assumed by Royal Bank of Canada, resulting from user attempts to participate in this Challenge or if required, download any information necessary to participate in this Challenge. In the event of a dispute regarding who submitted an on-line entry, the entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry.

25) By entering this Challenge, Team Members agree to hold the Royal Bank of Canada, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies, their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns, harmless from and against any and all claims and liability arising out of or in any way connected with the operation of this Challenge and use of a Prize. Participants of this Challenge assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in this Challenge or use or redemption of a Prize. By participating in this Challenge, Team Members agree to be bound by the Rules and Regulations and the decisions of the competition judges as selected by Royal Bank of Canada.

26) By entering the Challenge, Team Members, should their Team win, agree to the use of their names, addresses (city only), photos, and/or images on videotape for publicity purposes relating exclusively to this Challenge without compensation.

27) Royal Bank of Canada reserves the right to disqualify Team Members whom it finds to be in violation of these Rules and Regulations or tampering with the entry process. Royal Bank of Canada reserves the right to refuse an entry from a person whose eligibility is in question or who has been disqualified or is otherwise ineligible to enter.

28) This Challenge and the terms and conditions contained in these Rules and Regulations, shall be exclusively governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.

29) For Quebec residents, any litigation respecting the conduct or organization of this Challenge may be submitted to the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux for a ruling. Any litigation respecting the awarding of a Prize can only be submitted to the Régie for the purpose of helping the parties reach a settlement. For all other participants, any litigation must be initiated in the City of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

30) Privacy Statement: By being a member of a Team submitting a entry into the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge, all Team Members individually consent to the collection and use by Royal Bank of Canada of their personal information in order to process the entry and administer the Challenge, including awarding Prizes.

All Team Members consent to the collection, use and publication on the website of their first and last names and school name, which information is mandatory in order to participate in the Challenge, and which information is posted on the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge website (www.nextgreatinnovator.com).

All Team Members also consent to the submission by themselves or another Team Member and collection and publication to the website by Royal Bank of Canada of additional information about the Team and Team Members referred to as the "Team Profile", which includes such information as the Team Bio, the Team Philosophy, the Team's favourite innovation, and a Team Photo.

A Team Member submitting the Team Profile on behalf of the Team certifies that he/she has consent of the other Team Members to submit their personal information as part of the Team Profile. All submitted Team Profile information will be reviewed by Royal Bank of Canada prior to publication on the website. The Team Profile may not contain any nudity or sexually explicit, discriminatory, disparaging, libelous or other inappropriate content. Any unacceptable Team Profile information will not be published. Team Profiles that are published to the website will be available for viewing by the public and will be searchable by School and/ or Team name.

31) If for any reason the Challenge is not capable of being conducted as intended by Royal Bank of Canada, including due to computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other cause that corrupts or interferes with the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Challenge, Royal Bank of Canada may, at its sole discretion, disqualify any entrant responsible for such misconduct and cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Challenge.

32) CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR INTERFERE WITH THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CHALLENGE MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND ROYAL BANK OF CANADA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND/OR OTHER RELIEF FROM ALL RESPONSIBLE PERSONS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

33) Participation in the Challenge constitutes acceptance of and agreement to these Rules and Regulations.

34) This Challenge is void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law.

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