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HHS Releases Government Challenge Toolkit

The Department of Health & Human Services unveiled a toolkit website for challenge that provides HHS employees with experience, guidance documents, best practices, templates and other tools, along with a “winner’s circle” that celebrates successful challenge and solutions providers, agency CTO Todd Park announced.

The site provides background on government challenges – where the government offers awards and prizes for citizens submitting solutions to fill various government needs – along with resources for those wishing to conduct or learn about challenges and competitions.

From the guide:

Resources

We’ve gathered a number of resources that may be useful for those wishing to conduct or learn about challenges and competitions. The resources provided below may be useful for those wishing to conduct or learn about challenges or competitions.

Relevant Authorities

  • America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, Section 105 (Full Text | PDF )

Relevant OMB and GSA Guidances and Frequently Asked Questions

HHS Guidance and Documents

Payment Forms

In circumstances where challenge winners have not had a previous financial relationship with the government, agencies should consult with their financial manager to determine the preferred route of payment of cash prizes. One method to consider is PSC-59 (PDF).

Challenge Platforms

Agencies can choose platforms that best meet their needs for specific challenges. Please note that all HHS challenges, even if run by an outside vendor, must be advertised on challenge.gov/hhs.

  • Challenge.gov is a no-cost government platform administered by GSA.
  • Additional free tools with negotiated federally-compatible Terms of Service that can be used for online challenges are available on apps.gov.
  • In addition, there are a number of providers that offer fee-based challenge platforms, specialized solver communities , and the technical assistance to plan, design, implement, and evaluate challenges.

Networks for Federal Employees

  • Federal Challenge Listserv – For federal employees, this group discusses challenge and competition activities occurring at federal agencies and within our stakeholder communities. For more information, contact karen.trebon@gsa.gov.
  • HHS Prize and Challenge Portal – HHS employees are also eligible to join the HHS Prize and Challenge Portal, which contains useful resources such as a wiki, discussion boards, and other resources for HHS employees engaged in running challenges and competitions. For more information, contact Michael Yea at HHS.

Additional Resources

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