{
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    "title" : "Challenge, Contract or Grant – Which tool is right for the job? |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Challenge, Contract or Grant – Which tool is right for the job?",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2014/08/14/challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Challenge, Contract or Grant \u0026#8211; Which tool is right for the job?","summary" : "Choosing between a contract, a grant, or a public prize competition to get solutions to the problems your agency faces is a difficult task. Each is a tool that has different qualities and each might be the best choice for varying situations.","date" : "2014-08-14T09:52:00-04:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"tlowden" : "Tim Lowden"},"topics" : {
        
            "challenges-and-prize-competitions" : "Challenges & Prize Competitions",
            "innovation" : "Innovation"
            },"branch" : "cm-topics-button-component",
      "filename" :"2014-08-14-challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/08/2014-08-14-challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2014/08/2014-08-14-challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2014/08/2014-08-14-challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job.md","slug" : "challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2014/08/14/challenge-contract-or-grant-which-tool-is-right-for-the-job/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image image-right image-right-legacy\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/08/250-x-265-Checklist-PixelEmbargo-iStock-Thinkstock-164155765.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Checklist\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003ePixelEmbargo/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChoosing between a contract, a grant, or a public prize competition to get solutions to the problems your agency faces is a difficult task. Each is a tool that has different qualities and each might be the best choice for varying situations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSam Ortega, the manager of the Centennial Challenges program at NASA, spoke about the subject recently on a DigitalGov University webinar. Being the head of a large federal public prize program, he had a lot to say about the benefits of crowdsourcing innovation through prizes. But, he noted that challenges aren’t always the best avenue to choose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“If challenges are so great, why don’t we use them all the time?” Ortega asked. “For the same reason you don’t use a saw to cut a pizza; sometimes it’s the wrong tool for the job.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, Ortega says, some benefits of public prize competitions do give them an edge over contracts and grants in certain situations:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMany possible solutions vs. usually one solution\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBroader pool of potential entrants\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLesser cost to execute\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePayment for success only\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe key for a challenge/public prize competition being a good option, he said, is having enough resources that already exist to believe a solution is feasible, even if difficult. The less successful challenges NASA has run are those in fields where heavy amounts of research and development are still needed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Research and development is better through grants and through contracts,” Ortega said, adding that asking people to create something that is completely unknown is difficult to structure a challenge around.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor more, view Ortega’s slides or the webinar in its entirely below:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/08/Prizes-Contracts-Grants.pdf\" title=\"Centennial Challenges Program Space Technology Mission Directorate - Prizes, Contracts \u0026amp; Grants: What Should I Do?\"\u003ePrizes, Contracts \u0026amp; Grants: What Should I Do?\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 7.02 MB, 12 pages)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ciframe src=\"//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/bDhlFKAVs4Bj4V\" width=\"595\" height=\"485\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"border:1px solid #CCC; border-width:1px; margin-bottom:5px; max-width: 100%;\" allowfullscreen\u003e \u003c/iframe\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"margin-bottom:5px\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e \u003ca href=\"//www.slideshare.net/DigitalGov/prizes-contracts-grants-digital-gov-tb-corrected-typos-on-slides-1-and-2\" title=\"Slides: Prizes, Contracts \u0026amp; Grants: What Should I Do?\" alt=\"Prizes, Contracts and Grants: What Should I Do?\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePrizes, Contracts \u0026amp; Grants: What Should I Do?\u003c/a\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e from \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.slideshare.net/DigitalGov\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDigitalGov from General Services Administration\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf you would like more information on challenges and prize competitions, become part of the\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/communities/challenges-prizes/\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFederal Challenge and Prize Community listserv\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e. If you are interested in entering a challenge, see the list of government challenges at\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"http://challenge.gov/\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eChallenge.gov\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThis article is part of this month’s editorial theme on our DigitalGov Services. Check out more articles \u003ca href=\"\n\" title=\"Recent Monthly Themes\"\u003erelated to this theme\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}