{
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    "title" : "Making a Statement: When It Comes to Hackathons, a Compelling Challenge Statement Is Key to Success |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Making a Statement: When It Comes to Hackathons, a Compelling Challenge Statement Is Key to Success",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2016/05/19/making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Making a Statement: When It Comes to Hackathons, a Compelling Challenge Statement Is Key to Success","summary" : "As the civic hacking movement continues to grow in the United States, agencies are starting to adopt hackathons to engage citizens in the challenging work of improving government services and solving real-world challenges using open data. Whether you are planning your own hackathon, or planning in a multi-government agency “mass collaboration” such as the National","date" : "2016-05-19T10:00:51-04:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"nicholas-skytland" : "Nicholas Skytland"},"topics" : {
        
            "challenges-and-prize-competitions" : "Challenges & Prize Competitions",
            "software-engineering" : "Software Engineering"
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      "filename" :"2016-05-19-making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/05/2016-05-19-making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2016/05/2016-05-19-making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2016/05/2016-05-19-making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success.md","slug" : "making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2016/05/19/making-a-statement-when-it-comes-to-hackathons-a-compelling-challenge-statement-is-key-to-success/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eAs the civic hacking movement continues to grow in the United States, agencies are starting to adopt hackathons to engage citizens in the challenging work of improving government services and solving real-world challenges using open data. \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/05/600-x-400-Composite-image-of-winners-cup-on-enter-key-Wavebreakmedia-Ltd-Wavebreak-Media-Thinkstock-497353503.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Composite image of winners cup on enter key\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you are planning your own hackathon, or planning in a multi-government agency “mass collaboration” such as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.codeforamerica.org/events/national-day-2016\"\u003eNational Day of Civic Hacking\u003c/a\u003e, it’s important to design citizen engagement events well.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[\u003cstrong\u003eSide note:\u003c/strong\u003e Join us June 4 in cities around the nation for the National Day of Civic Hacking! Note the \u003ca href=\"https://cfa.typeform.com/to/TPDQuo\"\u003eregistration form\u003c/a\u003e for those organizing their own event.]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHackathons can (and very regularly do) produce amazing technology, but it really starts with a great problem statement. I’d like to offer some best practices and lessons learned based on our experience developing inspiring and compelling problem statements for the Random Hack of Kindness, the \u003ca href=\"https://2016.spaceappschallenge.org/\"\u003eInternational Space Apps Challenge\u003c/a\u003e and National Day of Civic Hacking.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/05/600-x-513-National-Day-of-Civic-Hacking-Rosie-logo.jpg\"\n    alt=\"National Day of Civic Hacking 2016 logo\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2014/04/28/in-crowdsourcing-competitions-defining-the-problem-is-half-the-battle/\"\u003eproblem statement\u003c/a\u003e defines a particular challenge or issue of importance both to the agency writing it and the participants attending the hackathon. The best challenge statements meet a real need, compel developers to take action, and inspire a creative solution that could not otherwise be developed. Here are a few best practices on how to write a great problem statement:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClarity:\u003c/strong\u003e The better the challenge statement, the better the product you’ll likely end up with at the hackathon. It should be clear, actionable and linked to impact.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInvolve stakeholders:\u003c/strong\u003e We often kick off our challenge development by holding a “big-think” meeting with key stakeholders. This isn’t necessarily to develop the challenges themselves, but to identify areas of interest for key topics. (A \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOT9vzNY8sY\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\"\u003erecent webinar\u003c/a\u003e covered the topic of problem definition workshops.)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMake it sticky:\u003c/strong\u003e The challenge should have a “sticky” title. I’m personally a fan of Dan and Chip Heath’s book “Made to Stick,” which talks about why some ideas survive and others die.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConcise communication:\u003c/strong\u003e Building on the above, it’s helpful to write a one-sentence tagline (or a short paragraph) for your challenge. Communication is key, and this will help you strike a chord with people who are viewing a lot of different opportunities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContext and background:\u003c/strong\u003e Every great challenge provides some context to what it is, why it’s important and why the solution matters. Is it a real need? Will the solution actually be used? Who is involved? Etc.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetailed challenge description:\u003c/strong\u003e Everything above is just the hook to get potential hackers and solvers to the description. This is where you describe the opportunity in detail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVetted resources list (including data sources if applicable):\u003c/strong\u003e Developers know that a challenge statement without resources or data is not very compelling. Nobody, especially at a hackathon, wants to start from scratch. This is where you discuss your (well-documented) API or list out the previous projects already started that might help address this.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInclude contact information:\u003c/strong\u003e Imagine showing up to a hackathon, being really excited about a project and then not being able to find anyone to answer basic questions about the challenge statement. More often than not, this is just a clarification around the language used. Make sure to provide the contact information of the subject matter experts who might be able to answer questions and, better yet, encourage them to actually attend the hackathon!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne-minute summary video:\u003c/strong\u003e Consider using media, such as a short (seriously, keep it short) video to connect with your audience. It should not be too long, but still provide something beyond text to describe why the challenge is important and what you are asking the developer community to do.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFinally, one last tip. \u003cstrong\u003eBe descriptive, but not prescriptive.\u003c/strong\u003e Often times, especially in government, we write challenge statements with a solution in mind. These are far less inspiring than challenge statements that provide room for the developer community to not only meet the basic requirements, but also innovate beyond what you had imagined. The best solutions we have seen at previous hackathons are those that dreamed and delivered far and above what we asked for in the challenge statement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor some great examples of challenge descriptions, you can view the challenges offered at the recent \u003ca href=\"https://2016.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges\"\u003eInternational Space Apps Challenge\u003c/a\u003e or the challenges for the upcoming \u003ca href=\"http://hackforchange.org/\"\u003eNational Day of Civic Hacking\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out! You can contact me via \u003ca href=\"mailto:nicholas.g.skytland@nasa.gov\"\u003eemail\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNicholas Skytland is the Data Evangelist at NASA and works in the agency’s Technology and Innovation Division.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
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