I just learned about an online resource, Challenge.gov, which allows innovators to compete for awards in various competitions, contests and well, challenges. The site is administered by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in partnership with ChallengePost. According to the site, it “empowers the U.S. Government and the public to bring the best ideas and top talent to bear on our nation’s most pressing challenges.
This platform is the latest milestone in the Administration’s commitment to use prizes and challenges to promote innovation.”
Currently, if you go to the website, you will notice that the FCC has an ongoing challenge to researchers, inventors and software developers to produce research and create apps that empower consumers to monitor and protect Internet Openess with $1,000 in prizes. It’s a small price to pay for the innovation that may be slowed down on account of its new open internet regulations, but that is a debate for another day.
There are other other prizes in the tens of thousands of dollars. The challenges are not limited to tech innovators, there are some that ask for policy ideas, and even photo contest challenges. It ranges.
More from the site:
What is a Challenge?
A challenge is exactly what the name suggests: it is a challenge by one party (a “seeker”) to a third party or parties (a “solver”) to identify a submission to a particular problem or reward contestants for accomplishing a particular goal. Prizes (monetary or non–monetary) often accompany challenges and contests.
Challenges can range from fairly simple (idea suggestions, creation of logos, videos, digital games and mobile applications) to proofs of concept, designs, or finished products that solve the grand challenges of the 21st century.
How does Challenge.gov work?
On Challenge.gov, the government and the public work together to find submissions. Government agencies posts challenges on this site and the public can post submissions to these challenges.
Once a challenge is created, other people can join the challenge to propose a submission, discuss the challenge, and show support. Incentives, which are payable only if a challenge is solved, encourage others to solve a problem and earn their rewards. Learn more about how this site works!
Check out Challenge.gov
Jay Jay Ghatt is also editor at Techyaya.com, founder of the JayJayGhatt.com and JayJayGhatt.com where she teaches online creators how to navigate digital entrepreneurship and offers Do-It-For-You Blogging Service. She manages her lifestyle sites BellyitchBlog, Jenebaspeaks and JJBraids.com and is the founder of BlackWomenTech.com 200 Black Women in Tech On Twitter. Her biz podcast 10 Minute Podcast is available on iTunes and Player.fm. Follow her on Twitter at @Jenebaspeaks. Buy her templates over at her legal and business templates on Etsy shop!
