{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Planning an Apps Challenge |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Planning an Apps Challenge",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2013/05/08/planning-an-apps-challenge/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Planning an Apps Challenge","summary" : "Apps challenges are a great way to spur innovation and help your agency meet its mission. But before you jump in, learn about how apps challenges work, to ensure yours is successful. Design Concept or Functioning App? What kind of product do you want from your apps challenge? A working app; or A concept for","date" : "2013-05-08T02:27:12-04:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"ktrebon" : "Karen Trebon"},"topics" : {
        
            "challenges-and-prize-competitions" : "Challenges & Prize Competitions",
            "innovation" : "Innovation",
            "mobile" : "Mobile"
            },"branch" : "cm-topics-button-component",
      "filename" :"2013-05-08-planning-an-apps-challenge.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2013/05/2013-05-08-planning-an-apps-challenge.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2013/05/2013-05-08-planning-an-apps-challenge.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2013/05/2013-05-08-planning-an-apps-challenge.md","slug" : "planning-an-apps-challenge","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2013/05/08/planning-an-apps-challenge/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eApps challenges are a great way to spur innovation and help your agency meet its mission. But before you jump in, learn about how apps challenges work, to ensure yours is successful.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"design-concept-or-functioning-app\"\u003eDesign Concept or Functioning App?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat kind of product do you want from your apps challenge?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA working app; or\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA concept for an app\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo widen the pool of entries and participants, don’t put limits on submissions. You may get some great ideas that go in directions you’d never even considered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can ask developers to design for a specific platform, such as:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmartphone\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWebsite (desktop)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWebsite (mobile)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSMS (short message service)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can also leave it open and allow developers to build for their preferred platform, which will likely generate more entries. \u003ca href=\"http://armylive.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/03/apps-for-the-army-challenge-is-here/\"\u003eApps for the Army\u003c/a\u003e required their apps be built for smartphones.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what8217s-the-scope\"\u003eWhat’s the Scope?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTie your challenge to particular datasets, to provide some scope for the project. Otherwise you may receive a bunch of apps that already exist around a given topic, or submissions that totally the miss the mark.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you limit submissions to a single dataset, you’re more likely to get an app that meets a specific need\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you don’t limit the datasets, it allows developers to be more creative, but they might not come up with an app that really fits what you’re looking for\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn example of a great match between dataset and challenge is the First Lady’s ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative to end childhood obesity, which fit perfectly with the USDA’s nutrition dataset. They designed the \u003ca href=\"http://www.appsforhealthykids.com/\"\u003eApps for Healthy Kids\u003c/a\u003e challenge around it. To see more examples of how others did it, \u003ca href=\"http://challenge.gov/\"\u003esearch for “apps” or “app” on Challenge.gov\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you are interested in new apps only, state that in your rules. Otherwise, contestants may submit apps that are already out there, making the challenge less innovative.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"allow-enough-time\"\u003eAllow Enough Time\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlan for your challenge to take around five months, from start to finish. It can take more than two months for developers to build the app, and a week or more for you to review all of the entries. You’ll also need quite a bit of time to market the challenge, and time for public voting if you have a “People’s Choice” award (where the winner is chosen by public online voting).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnnounce the competition on the day you open submissions, so you can promote the challenge during the submission period\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-happens-to-the-code\"\u003eWhat Happens to the Code?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you want developers to share the code they wrote for the challenge, or offer the apps for free? Sharing the code will encourage people from the open-source community to participate, and collaborate to improve the apps. However, some developers would rather develop something that they can later enhance and sell. To maximize participation, consider requiring that apps created as part of the challenge are offered for free, but allow developers to build a premium or paid version of the app, separate from the competition.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"http://openinternetapps.challengepost.com/\"\u003eFCC’s Open Internet Apps Challenge\u003c/a\u003e required that the apps submissions were openly licensed (open source).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"http://appsfordevelopment.challengepost.com/\"\u003eWorld Bank’s Apps for Development competition\u003c/a\u003e did not require open source but allowed apps to be paid apps.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.nycbigapps.com/\"\u003eNYC BigApps\u003c/a\u003e did not require open source but required apps be free.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"choose-prizes\"\u003eChoose Prizes\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople are motivated by factors other than just money. A social reward (meeting an influential person) can have a greater perceived value than a small monetary prize.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider including a “People’s Choice” award, where the winner is chosen by public voting. Participants will try to gather the most votes from family, friends, and colleagues, increasing the number of visitors (and possible future entrants) to your challenge.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"http://openinternetapps.challengepost.com/\"\u003eFCC’s Open Internet Apps Challenge\u003c/a\u003e had three award categories, and winners received a trip to FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC, where they were honored at an FCC Chairman’s reception and presented their work in person to the Commission.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"http://www.appsforhealthykids.com/\"\u003eApps for Healthy Kids\u003c/a\u003e contest offered $60,000 in prizes and a trip to the White House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.nycbigapps.com/\"\u003eNYC BigApps\u003c/a\u003e offered $20,000 in prizes plus a dinner with the mayor.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTo see more examples of how others did it, \u003ca href=\"http://challenge.gov/\"\u003esearch for “apps” or “app” on Challenge.gov\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"promote-your-challenge\"\u003ePromote Your Challenge\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePromotion will likely be the most time-consuming aspect of your challenge. To help budget your time, consider this example: The World Bank’s Apps for Development Challenge team spent 70% of their time marketing the contest; 20% researching the problem they wanted to solve through the contest; and 10% of their time on judging.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"online-promotions\"\u003eOnline Promotions\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse your existing press contacts and partners to reach out to the tech press, including tech bloggers such as \u003ca href=\"http://mashable.com/\"\u003eMashable\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.techcrunch.com/\"\u003eTechCrunch\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.wired.com/\"\u003eWired\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.boingboing.net/\"\u003eBoing Boing\u003c/a\u003e. They can help to get information about your challenge in front of the developer community.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeverage your social media accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook, to promote the challenge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"offline-promotions\"\u003eOffline Promotions\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eResearch and attend tech events geared toward developers, share marketing materials, and ask to promote your challenge at the event.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrganize a \u003ca href=\"http://www.meetup.com/\"\u003eMeetup\u003c/a\u003e group or host an event to build interest in your challenge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReach out to groups you may not normally work with. For example, teachers, schools, and universities might be able to incorporate your challenge into their class schedules and assignments. The team behind the World Bank’s Apps for Development Challenge reached out to think tanks, universities, and others to promote the challenge to their communities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFollow-up with participants. The team behind the HHS \u003ca href=\"http://www.health2con.com/devchallenge/healthy-people-2020-leading-health-indicators-app-challenge/\"\u003emyHealthyPeopleChallenge\u003c/a\u003e drafted boilerplate emails to send out when the submissions didn’t meet the criteria of the contest, so participants could have time to resubmit.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow that you’ve planned out your apps challenge, you need to \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2012/07/09/how-to-implement-an-apps-challenge/\"\u003eimplement it\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReview all the apps challenge steps at a glance on the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2013/11/06/software-and-apps-challenges/\"\u003eHow to Run an Apps Challenge page\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}