So You Want To Run A Prize Competition? We Can Help.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with the support of HHS Competes, has run 130 prize competitions since 2011, inviting the crowd to help solve a range of difficult problems. We have found that prize competitions can help HHS stimulate innovation, procure products and services, and effectively engage the public. So, what is stopping more HHS employees from running prize competitions as a tool to solve problems? It turns out many HHS program staff have ideas for their own competitions but aren't quite sure of how to launch and administer them. In response, we created a two-week accelerator for anyone interested within the Department to learn how and get started! The seven participating teams learned about: effective prize design; navigating bureaucracy (or "hacking red tape" as we like to call it); and maximizing return-on-investment. Teams also received mentoring from past challenge managers from HHS and other agencies, attorneys, compliance officers, business startup experts, and procurement experts. We held a half-day in-person kickoff, followed by two weeks of virtual workshops and calls. On July 28th, the participants gathered to share what they learned about running prize competitions and how they plan on moving forward. What can you learn in two weeks? A lot, it turns out. As the teams shared their feedback of the accelerator, we heard confirmation of some things we already suspected would be most useful to them:
- Stories of successful practices and lessons learned? Check.
- Access to experts at HHS, other Federal agencies, the White House, and private sector partners. Yep.
- A chance to hear feedback from mentors and peers? Definitely.
But, we also heard a lot of feedback - positive and constructive - that we didn't predict at all. It was an opportunity to collaborate with other agencies. Two teams, on the very first day, decided to join forces. Another team decided to collaborate with one of the mentors. Another two teams discussed a new collaboration during the finale. (We would love to share more about the proposed competitions, but since they're currently in development and are procurement sensitive, so we can't at this time). It helped teams realize that running a prize competition is more complex (and powerful) than they had imagined. In some cases, that resulted in less acceleration and more reflection. Two teams expanded their scope and timeline as a result of speaking with mentors and peers. The unique structure of our 13 hour-long courses scattered throughout the two weeks was also a bigger hit than we had imagined; five-15 minute presentations and long discussions of the projects proved more useful than the usual 50 minutes of presentation and ten minutes of Q&A. Repeatedly having to introduce project goals to every course leader helped the teams refine their elevator pitch and their understanding of the problem. Inviting everyone to meet in person for the kickoff enabled us to keep the courses virtual without losing the intimacy. The virtual courses allowed everyone to stay engaged no matter their location. Some elements didn't work out as well as we hoped. We asked participants twice to submit a draft Federal Register Notice (a document that would announce the competition and its details to the public) for peer feedback. Although some teams found it useful, others weren't yet ready to consider finer details without first defining the broader strokes. The course order didn't always make sense (e.g. considering legal issues before thinking about the judging criteria). All indications are that we will do this again. A improved, retooled gamma version. If you work for HHS and are interested in learning how to use a prize competition as an innovation tool to address your work, stay tuned for announcements about our next mini-accelerator. If you're interested, email us at [email protected] to sign up for bi-weekly Competes updates.
The beta Mini-Accelerator could not have happened without the help and support of the organizers Adam Wong, Kevin McTigue, and Garrick Donnelly; the course leaders Sherrette Funn, Tammi Marcoullier, Karl Becker, Jarah Meador, Read Holman, Bonny Harbinger, Mike Contreras, Debby Kaplan, Patrick Joy, and Chris Maimone; our guest speaker Jenn Gustetic; and our IDEA Lab colleagues Malini Sekhar, Dan Stowell, and Kate Appel.
