Implementation of Federal Prize Authority: Fiscal Year 2013 Progress Report A Report from the Office of Science and Technology Policy In Response to the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the Requirements of Section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 May 2014 1 ABOUT THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The office serves as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans, and programs of the Federal government. OSTP leads an interagency effort to develop and implement sound science and technology policies and budgets. The office works with the private sector to ensure that Federal investments in science and technology contribute to economic prosperity, environmental quality, and national security. For more information, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION This document is a work of the U.S. Government and is in the public domain (see 17 U.S.C. 105). DEPARTMENT, AGENCY, OFFICE, AND DIVISION ABBREVIATIONS AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory (part of Air Force/DOD) ARL Army Research Laboratory (part of Army/DOD) ASPR Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (part of HHS) CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (part of HHS) CMS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (part of HHS) DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (part of DOD) DOD Department of Defense DOE Department of Energy DOJ Department of Justice DTRA Defense Threats Reduction Agency (part of DOD) EPA Environmental Protection Agency EERE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (part of DOE) FTC Federal Trade Commission GSA General Services Administration HHS Department of Health and Human Services HRSA Health Resources and Services Administration (part of HHS) HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NCI National Cancer Institute (part of NIH/HHS) NCIPC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (part of CDC/HHS) NEA National Endowment for the Arts NEH National Endowment for the Humanities 2 NEI National Eye Institute (part of NIH/HHS) NIBIB National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (part of NIH/HHS) NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse (part of NIH/HHS) NIEHS National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (part of NIH/HHS) NIH National Institutes of Health (part of HHS) NIJ National Institute of Justice (part of DOJ) NSF National Science Foundation ODPHP Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (part of HHS) OMB Office of Management and Budget (part of the Executive Office of the President) OMH Office of Minority Health (part of HHS) ONC Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (part of HHS) ONDCP Office of National Drug Control Policy (part of the Executive Office of the President) OPM Office of Personnel Management OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy (part of the Executive Office of the President) SAMHSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (part of HHS) State Department of State USAID United States Agency for International Development USGS United States Geological Survey (part of the Department of Interior) 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 7 1. BENEFITS OF PRIZES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ....................................................................................... 8 2. SUPPORT FOR SCALING THE USE OF PRIZES ..................................................................................... 12 3. HIGHLIGHTS AND TRENDS FROM PRIZES CONDUCTED UNDER COMPETES IN FY 2013 ......................... 15 4. SUMMARY OF PRIZES CONDUCTED UNDER COMPETES IN FY 2013 ................................................. 22 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................... 27 APPENDIX 1: AGENCY PROGRAMS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PRIZE AUTHORITY PROVIDED BY COMPETES ......... 28 APPENDIX 2: AGENCY PROGRAMS CONDUCTED UNDER OTHER AUTHORITIES .............................................. 109 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed into the law the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES). Section 105 of COMPETES added Section 24 (Prize Competitions) to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (Stevenson- Wydler), granting all agencies broad authority to conduct prize competitions to spur innovation, solve tough problems, and advance their core missions. Prizes have an established record of spurring innovation in the private and philanthropic sectors. This report details examples of how, under the right circumstances, well-designed prizes, integrated into a broader innovation strategy, have enabled Federal agencies to: • Pay only for success and establish an ambitious goal without having to predict which team or approach is most likely to succeed; • Reach beyond the “usual suspects” to increase the number of solvers tackling a problem and to identify novel approaches, without bearing high-levels of risk; • Bring out-of-discipline perspectives to bear; and • Increase cost-effectiveness to maximize the return on taxpayer dollars. The Obama Administration has taken important steps to make prizes a standard tool in every agency’s innovation toolbox. The September 2009 Strategy for American Innovation1 recognized the potential for prizes to mobilize America’s ingenuity to solve some of the Nation’s most pressing challenges. In March 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a formal policy framework2 to guide agency leaders in using prizes to advance their core missions. In September 2010, the Administration launched Challenge.gov3, a one- stop shop where entrepreneurs and citizen solvers can find public-sector prizes. By September 2013, Challenge.gov had featured more than 280 competitions from over 45 Federal agencies, departments, and bureaus. The prize authority provided by COMPETES supports this effort. By giving agencies a clear legal path, the legislation has made it dramatically easier for agencies to use prizes, subject to the availability of appropriations or other allowed sources of funds. By significantly expanding the authority of all Federal agencies to conduct prize competitions, the legislation enables agencies to pursue more ambitious prizes with robust incentives. Since the signing of COMPETES in January 2011, the Administration has laid the policy and legal groundwork to take maximum advantage of the new prize authority in the years to come. Policy and legal staff in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) jointly developed a Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions 1 http://www.whitehouse.gov/innovation/strategy and http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/innovationstrategy-prizes.pdf 2 http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-11.pdf 3 http://www.challenge.gov/ 5 memorandum,4 issued in August 2011, which provided guidance to assist with implementation of the new, government-wide authority. Agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have established strategies and policies to accelerate widespread use of the new prize authority granted to them through COMPETES. Some agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), HHS, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have personnel dedicated to lead prize design and administration efforts at their agencies and to provide internal support to program managers interested in making use of prizes. As many agencies expand their use of the prize authority provided to them under COMPETES, some agencies have continued to administer prizes and challenges developed under other pre- existing authorities, including agency-specific authorities, grant-making authority, and procurement authority, such as that provided by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), adding additional lessons learned and best practices regarding the use of prizes and challenges. In addition, as called for in Section 24(n) of Stevenson-Wydler, in July 2011, the General Services Administration (GSA) launched a contract vehicle5 to dramatically decrease the amount of time required for agencies to tap the private-sector expertise that is so critical to early success. In addition, a government-wide Center of Excellence, led by NASA, provided support to multiple agencies for the full lifecycle of their pilot prize competitions: from design, through implementation, to post-prize evaluation. The authority provided in COMPETES has led to significant new efforts, applying prizes to national priority areas including energy, climate change resilience, health, and employment. Since its creation, 68 prize competitions have been offered through the authority provided by COMPETES. The number of prizes conducted under this authority increased significantly in FY 2013 to 41, up over 50% compared to FY 2012 and a nearly six-fold increase compared to FY