For example, because grant funding is handed out in advance of results to fewer innovators, applications need to be lengthy and detailed. Similarly, raising equity investment can take many months of networking, pitching and due diligence. And recipients of grants, investment and many other more traditional forms of funding are often selected in large part based on prior experience. Contrastingly, entry into a challenge prize typically requires a relatively concise application and ‘team’ or ‘experience’ is often only one of four or more assessment criteria, including tech, impact and innovation. Challenge delivery teams may also directly reach out to and encourage organizations from outside the sector to apply, highlighting this lower barrier to entry.
Challenge Works’ Data Driven Farming Prize was a global challenge to develop innovations that help smallholder farmers in Nepal increase their agricultural productivity. While there is no shortage of established international companies operating in this space (143 teams from 27 countries originally entered the competition), the thirteen teams selected as finalists included seven Nepali teams and six teams new to the agri-business sector.
Similarly, Impact Canada challenges are enabling the Canadian Government to use creative partnership and governance approaches to incentivize innovation within an Indigenous context.Working with an Indigenous steering committee, the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative attracted over 300 applications from Indigenous communities and groups to spur new ways to fund, design, build and maintain homes that meet the specific needs of Indigenous communities. Dr. Luugigyoo Patrick Stewart, featured in Canadian Architect magazine (Fall 2019) noted ‘This is a new way of doing business…they’re reaching out. It’s exciting because we’ve never been invited before.’