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Concerning Federally Sponsored Inducement Prizes in Engineering and Science (1999) / Chapter Skim
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Inducement Prizes and Existing Public Policy Instruments
Pages 5-7

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From page 5...
... Specifically, it is assumed that the proceeds of the prize will "induce" the prizewinner to spend less time on the bureaucratic processes of grant applications and reporting, and spend more time on scientific research or innovation in his or her chosen field. Inducement Prizes and Existing Public Policy Instruments In an effort to better understand the role inducement prizes might play as an instrument of federal science and technology policy, workshop participants considered the strengths and weaknesses of two primary mechanisms by which the federal government supports research and innovation directly traditional research grants and procurement contracts and how prize contests might complement them.
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From page 6...
... in response to this challenge, DARPA, which has been a trailblazer in the use of alternative procurement mechanisms, has sought and recently received legislative authority from Congress to offer inducement prizes as a mechanism for attracting and engaging cuttingedge technology companies in support ofthe agency's mission.~3 There was general agreement among workshop participants that inducement prize contests were not immune to the challenges that face the grant and procurement systems. indeed, if prize contests are not designed or administered with care, they may discourage prudent risk taking or unorthodox approaches to particular scientific or technological challenges, or scare away potential contestants with excessive bureaucracy.
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From page 7...
... It should be noted, however, that along with the higher administration costs and risk associated with conventional grants and contracts, federal agencies are likely to receive significantly greater substantive information flows from researchers supported by these instruments than they would receive from prize contestants per se. A third advantage of prize contests may be their ability to leverage the financial resources of a contest sponsor by inducing contestants to invest their own resources in research and innovation aimed at the prize objective as they compete for the prize's cash and non-cash rewards.
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Key Terms

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  • inducement prizes
  • procurement contracts
  • risk associated
  • traditional research

  • prize contestants
  • potential advantages
  • participants argued
  • prudent risk
  • risk taking

  • inducing contestants
  • information demands
  • carefully targeted
  • fourth comparative
  • agencies assume

  • perceived shortcomings
  • accounting rules
  • federal science
  • recently received
  • discourage prudent

  • administration costs
  • role inducement
  • advance development
  • alternative procurement
  • principal policy

  • commercial demand
  • innovative researchers
  • respected prize
  • meet particular
  • winning process


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