{
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    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Not Just a Website: Challenge.gov Enables Agencies to Innovate with Incentives |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Not Just a Website: Challenge.gov Enables Agencies to Innovate with Incentives",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/09/10/not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Not Just a Website: Challenge.gov Enables Agencies to Innovate with Incentives","summary" : "Next month, Challenge.gov turns five. A technical platform, a listing of federal prize competitions, and consultation and support services for running impactful challenges all meld into the program, which brings the best ideas and talent together to solve mission-centric problems. To mark the milestone, the General Services Administration (GSA) will host a special event on","date" : "2015-09-10T02:57:15-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"kelly-olson" : "Kelly Olson"},"topics" : {
        
            "challenges-and-prize-competitions" : "Challenges and prize competitions"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-09-10-not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/09/2015-09-10-not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/09/2015-09-10-not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/09/2015-09-10-not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives.md","slug" : "not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/09/10/not-just-a-website-challenge-gov-enables-agencies-to-innovate-with-incentives/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/09/600-x-450-Number-five-cupcake-RuthBlack-iStock-Thinkstock-465078596.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Cupcake with sprinkles and a starred number 5 candle\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eNext month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.challenge.gov/\"\u003eChallenge.gov\u003c/a\u003e turns five. A technical platform, a listing of federal prize competitions, and consultation and support services for running impactful challenges all meld into the program, which brings the best ideas and talent together to solve mission-centric problems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo mark the milestone, the General Services Administration (GSA) will host a \u003ca href=\"\n\"\u003especial event\u003c/a\u003e on Thursday, October 8th, to celebrate Challenge.gov’s accomplishments and to honor some of the visionary teams and individuals using incentivized competitions to spark significant change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe numbers tell the story.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUpwards of 80 agencies have used this no cost platform since its debut, launching more than 440 challenges with prizes totalling over $150 million. Some 200,000 solvers—a mix of entrepreneurs, budding citizen scientists, students, and more—have participated in these challenges to solve important local, national, and global problems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"five-years-of-innovation-solutions-and-engagement\"\u003eFive Years of Innovation, Solutions, and Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/04/600-x-165-ChallengeGov-logo.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Full logo for Challenge.gov with the tagline: Government Challenges, Your Solutions.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince its launch in 2010, Challenge.gov has accelerated the federal government’s mission to spur innovation, cost-effective solutions, and citizen engagement through competitions and challenges. Along with other White House initiatives, Challenge.gov has made it easier for federal agencies to launch and manage challenges.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2011, President Obama signed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, giving agencies a clear legal path to running challenges and enabling the pursuit of more ambitious competitions and incentives.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/offices/COECI/index.html\"\u003eCenter of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation\u003c/a\u003e (CoECI), established by NASA in 2011, provides guidance to NASA and other agency teams on all aspects of implementing challenge-based initiatives. This end-to-end service has allowed other agencies to rapidly experiment with these new methods before standing up their own capabilities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, agencies are adding dedicated staffs and implementing programs to \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/17/accelerating-use-prizes-address-tough-challenges\"\u003epromote the use of challenges\u003c/a\u003e across the federal government. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/fy14_competes_prizes_-_may_2015.pdf\"\u003eannual report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy\u003c/a\u003e [PDF] details the increasing use of challenges to meet national priority needs in areas such as energy, public safety, health, cybersecurity, and infrastructure.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd Challenge.gov has been a strategic federal partner through it all, helping agencies improve services and maximize tax dollars by only paying for successful solutions that meet the set criteria for the competition.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than just a website, the Challenge.gov program helps agencies throughout the process of creating and running a challenge—from the conception of an idea to the awarding of a prize. A mix of training, consultation, and new features to the site make it increasingly easy for federal agencies to launch and run challenges.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHarvard University acknowledged this when it awarded Challenge.gov the \u003ca href=\"http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/185155\"\u003eInnovations in American Government Award\u003c/a\u003e, citing the program’s role in enabling agencies to solve public problems in a more effective manner.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Challenge.gov creatively sidesteps many of the roadblocks to public-sector innovation,” Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in American Government Program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, wrote in a \u003ca href=\"http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-challenge-platform-general-services-administration-unleashing-community-innovators.html\"\u003ecolumn in Governing Magazine\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Instead of paying first and hoping a solution is delivered, GSA’s approach minimizes risk and encourages creativity by inducing dozens and sometimes hundreds of potential solutions and leaving the government agency free to pick the best before delivering a reward,” Goldsmith wrote. “It’s an approach that opens up space for individuals and smaller businesses to shine in a sector often crowded out by big companies.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"celebrating-the-past-and-looking-forward-hahahugoshortcode2609s3hbhb\"\u003eCelebrating the past and Looking Forward \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/09/600-x-360-Award-Alexander-Vasilyev-iStock-Thinkstock-1042552011.jpg\"\n    alt=\"A n award for The Best shaped like a gold star, against a red and gold hued background.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe October 8th event at GSA will highlight the critical role challenges and prizes have played in federal government innovation and honor those who have helped this community thrive and progress.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe event will feature a variety of activities of interest both from a federal and industry perspective, including:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKeynote speeches from leaders in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and GSA\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVendor showcase and lightning talks for the federal community to learn about professional vendor services, capabilities, and current challenge development work\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAwards to recognize teams and individuals who have raised the bar on prize design and incentives and/or led the adoption of challenges in the federal government\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInformation on new capabilities on the Challenge.gov site.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBe sure to \u003ca href=\"\n\"\u003eregister\u003c/a\u003e even if you can’t attend in person, as there will be a live webcast of the festivities. The hashtag #publicprizes will be used.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso, don’t forget to \u003ca href=\"https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/challenge_gsa\"\u003enominate your choices\u003c/a\u003e for the Five Years of Excellence in Federal Challenge \u0026amp; Prize Competitions Event \u0026amp; Awards. You have through Friday, September 11th, to make your nominations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you are a vendor currently working with government agencies on challenge and prize development and would like to participate, please \u003ca href=\"mailto:challenge@gsa.gov\"\u003eemail the Challenges team\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}