Two days short of its second birthday, Challenge.gov, the first online listing of incentive prizes offered or supported by Federal agencies, reaches its 200th listing of a challenge in search of a solution by the American public, the White House said Wednesday.
Launched on September 7, 2010, the site has hosted challenges posted by 45 departments and agencies. More than 16,000 citizen “solvers” have participated in these competitions directly on Challenge.gov, with additional entrants joining the competitions through other sources.
“This benchmark shows the impact made by the Administration’s efforts to make incentive prizes a tool in Federal agency toolkits for seeking innovative solutions to address agency mission and solve tough problems,” wrote Cristin Dorgelo on the White House blog. “Well-designed incentive prizes enable Federal agencies to establish ambitious goals, pay only for success, reach beyond the ‘usual suspects’ to increase the number of minds tackling a problem, and bring out-of-discipline perspectives to bear. New public-sector prizes and challenges continue to be launched.”
