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A Strong Challenge Statement Brings Innovators to Your Prize/Challenge

Kristalyn Laryea, Senior Advisor, Partnerships and Programs
Alana Couvrette, Policy Advisor
Impact Canada, Impact & Innovation Unit, Privy Council Office
scribbles on paper

In less than two sentences, a challenge statement has the potential to make — or break — a prize/challenge. Read on to learn more about these small, but mighty, elements of prize/challenge design.

A challenge statement is a prize/challenge’s call to action. It provides a clear, concise goal for participants and helps them to understand the aims and terms of the prize/challenge.

In general, a challenge statement includes the objective of the prize/challenge (the what) and the criteria that will be used to assess if the objective has been met (the how). For example, the challenge statement for the ANSARI XPrize was “…to build a reliable, reusable, privately-financed, manned spaceship capable of carrying three people to 100 kilometers about the Earth’s surface twice within two weeks.”

The challenge statement may also include the prize amount and/or the population or group who will benefit from addressing the problem, such as the example of the challenge statement for Nesta’s Longitude Prize:

“The Longitude Prize is a £10m prize fund that will reward a competitor that can develop a point-of-care diagnostic test that will conserve antibiotics for future generations and revolutionize the delivery of global healthcare. The test must be accurate rapid, affordable and easy to use anywhere in the world.”

The challenge statement lays the groundwork for the overall process; thus, developing an effective call to action requires having an idea of the prize/challenge details. This could mean that the challenge statement is not finalized until closer to the end of the design process. There are benefits to developing a draft challenge statement in the early stages, however, because it can help to focus ideas, identify assumptions, and build buy-in for the approach. Use the work that you did to define your problem to build a solid first draft and then modify it as you progress through the prize/challenge design process.

As you work to develop your challenge statement, here are some points to keep in mind:

  1. Provide a clear goal. State the objective of the prize/challenge and include the criteria that will be used to judge the winners. Present the information so that participants can understand what is being asked for and what they need to do to respond.
  2. Try not to leave it open-ended. Ambiguity is the enemy — it can result in submissions that are unrelated to the goal of the prize/challenge or discourage participants from entering their solutions due to a lack of understanding the issue. Remember: a well-defined problem is easier to solve.
  3. Be inspiring. Let innovators know how the prize/challenge will have a real impact on an important social, economic or environmental problem. Consider making a statement by using different forms of media (e.g., short video).
  4. Be actionable. Make sure that what you are asking participants to do is, in fact, possible during the timeframe that you give them. In addition, make sure that the prize(s) that are being offered are sufficient to incent innovators to act.
  5. Avoid being prescriptive. While you should include all of the critical information about the parameters of the prize/challenge, avoid being too prescriptive or you may limit innovation. Provide only the basic requirements to give participants room to innovate beyond what is asked for in the challenge statement.
  6. Engage with stakeholders. Engage with your colleagues and other experts and stakeholders to test and strengthen the challenge statement. As much as possible, tap into different types of expertise and perspectives. Ensure that you consult with individuals or groups who have lived experience with the problem of interest to ensure that what you are doing is relevant to them.
  7. Don’t take it lightly. The quality of your challenge statement impacts the success of your prize/challenge. It is the main way that it is communicated to the world. It’s how you get buy-in from stakeholders and support from partners. A strong challenge statement is how you attract the right innovators to submit their best ideas to address the problem that you are trying to solve. Do not take it lightly!

Resources and tools to help you develop challenge statements are available online. For examples of challenge statements, take a look at the prizes/challenges offered by Nesta or those on challenges.gov. And, as always, don’t hesitate to contact us in the Privy Council Office’s Impact and Innovation Unit, if you have any questions or need any help.

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