Merge pull request #2033 from GSA/kgkempe-2026

Content updated 9-26-24 & Merge issues

_posts/2024-09-20-agency-directives-on-prize-competitions.md

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+---
+date: 2024/09/20
+layout: post
+permalink: /blog/2024-09-20-agency-directives-on-prize-competitions/
+title: Agency Directives on Prize Competitions
+tagline: What are agency directives? How do they help you to run a prize competition?
+excerpt: A summary of August 2024 Challenge & Prize Community Office Hour discussion on agency directives.
+author: Quinn Slayton
+image: /assets/images/Challenge and Prize Community Office Hours Banner.png
+post-body-content-uploads: /assets/images/Challenge and Prize Community Office Hours Banner.png
+image_alt_text: White text on blue background Challenge.gov Challenge and Prize Community Office Hours 4th Wednesday of each month 12 PM ET
+---
+
+<p>Does your agency have a prize challenge directive? If not, you might consider bringing this best practice to your agency. Directives are official policy determinations for how you do things at your agency. Some federal agencies have adopted this practice to give employees a better understanding of the requirements for the use of prize competitions and challenges. Here’s <a href="https://www.usda.gov/directives/dr-2405-001">one from USDA</a> as an example.</p> 
+
+<p>At the August 2024 Challenge and Prize Community Office Hours, we heard from representatives from various agencies on their approaches to agency directives. Jarah Meador, Director of Challenge.gov shared advice from her experience working with the General Services Administration (GSA) on drafting an agency directive. “Look at other agencies' directives and recycle heavily from those to craft one for your agency. The goal is to have reproducible language across the federal government for how agencies interpret the America COMPETES Act,” said Meador.</p>
+
+<p>A challenge manager from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shared their unique approach. USAID established the Innovation Incentive Award Authority (IIAA) to incentivize local innovators, entrepreneurs, and organizations to enter and strengthen weak markets and systems and contribute to greater sustainability through unrestricted prize awards of up to $500,000.</p>
+
+<p>Learn more about IIAA here: <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/innovation-technology-research/innovation/epic/iiaa">https://www.usaid.gov/innovation-technology-research/innovation/epic/iiaa</a></p> 
+
+<p>We also heard from a colleague from National Institutes of Health (NIH) on their approach. As a part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), NIH receives broad guidance on prize competitions from HHS. Additionally, NIH has a designated challenge manager at each of the 27 institutes to help the people in their operating unit interpret the challenge policy, design and run challenges, and file the required reporting.</p>  
+
+<p>Starting a prize challenge or competition from scratch can be a daunting task. An agency directive takes out the mystery and gives you the guard rails for planning and executing a prize competition at your agency. If you’re thinking of creating an agency directive, reach out to the Challenge and Prize Community for ideas.</p> 
+
+<p><em>Office Hours are for Federal challenge managers, the Challenge & Prize Community of Practice, and other federal employees interested in learning more about prize competitions. They are held on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 12 pm ET via Zoom.gov. <a href="https://gsa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIscOuurjkuGRsY2rziMZDcn5cGAVax8XM#/registration">Register here.</a></em></p>

pages/events.md

@@ -17,20 +17,17 @@ title: Events
             <title id="stay-tuned-for-upcoming-events">stay tuned for upcoming events</title>        <use xlink:href="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/uswds/img/sprite.svg#calendar_today"></use>
           </svg>
         </svg>
-        <h2 class="card-title text-center" style="font-weight: 900;">September 17, 2024</h2>
-        <h4>Federal Innovation Through Prize Competitions: <br/>
-          U.S. Department of Energy's American-Made Program
-</h4>
-         <p class="card-text text-center"> <b>Join us for an exclusive insider's look at energy innovation</b></p>
-        <p class="card-text text-center"> Discover how the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is revolutionizing problem-solving through prize competitions. In this one-hour webinar, you'll hear directly from the DOE Prize Competition Community of Practice members and American Made Challenges team.
-</p>
-<p class="card-text text-center">In this session you'll learn about the strategic role of prize competitions in DOE's innovation strategy, valuable lessons for other federal agencies, and how YOU can be part of groundbreaking energy solutions. </p>
- <p class="card-text text-center">
-          <b>Tuesday, September 17 <br/>
-            2:00 - 3:00 pm ET</b>
+        <h2 class="card-title text-center" style="font-weight: 900;">Fall 2024 Webinar Series</h2>
+        <h4>Federal Innovation Through Prize Competitions<br/></h4>
+         <p class="card-text text-center"> <b>Discover How Federal Agencies are Using Prize Competitions to Drive Innovation and Solve Problems</b></p>
+        <p class="card-text text-center"> Join Challenge.gov for a webinar series exploring how key federal agencies are using prize competitions to drive innovation, solve national challenges, and advance critical initiatives. Each session will highlight a different agency and their approaches to designing, delivering, and scaling prize competitions to advance their agency’s mission.
 </p>
-<p>Don't miss this chance to learn from industry leaders and help shape the future of energy technology.</p>
-        <a href="https://gsa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/5717232379327/WN_7NB4r_A2T6Sj9M0XAtkpww" class="usa-button usa-button"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Register</span></a>
+<p class="card-text text-center"><b>National Institutes of Health</b>, October 9, 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET<br/>
+<b>U.S. Agency for International Development</b>, November 7, 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET <br/>
+<b>National Aeronautics and Space Administration</b>, December 11, 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET</p>
+
+<p>Don't miss this chance to learn from federal innovation leaders. This series is ideal for federal employees or innovators interested in how prize competitions are advancing solutions from energy and health to global development and space exploration.</p>
+        <a href="https://gsa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/4817259767612/WN_QZ6RkJe6QGK8FgQt1fPlpA" class="usa-button usa-button"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Register</span></a>
     </div>  
   </div> 
 </div>
@@ -39,6 +36,20 @@ title: Events
 <h2 class="text-center margin-top-0">Past Events</h2>
 <div class="grid-row">
   <div class="grid-col-12">
+      <div class="usa-card">
+      <div class="usa-card__body text-center"> <svg class="usa-icon usa-icon-large" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" role="img"><svg aria-labelledby="stay-tuned-for-upcoming-events" role="img">
+            <title id="stay-tuned-for-upcoming-events">stay tuned for upcoming events</title>        <use xlink:href="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/uswds/img/sprite.svg#calendar_today"></use>
+          </svg>
+        </svg>
+        <h2 class="card-title text-center" style="font-weight: 900;">September 17, 2024</h2>
+        <h4>Federal Innovation Through Prize Competitions: <br/>
+          U.S. Department of Energy's American-Made Program
+</h4>
+                <p class="card-text text-center">As the first in our series on Federal Innovation Through Prize Competitions, leaders from the <a href="https://americanmadechallenges.org/">U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) American-Made Program</a> and DOE Prize Competition Community of practice shared how they are revolutionizing problem-solving through prize competitions.  
+</p>
+<p class="card-text text-center">In this session, participants learned about the strategic role of prize competitions in DOE's innovation strategy, valuable lessons for other federal agencies, and how members of the public can be part of roundbreaking energy solutions. </p>
+    </div>  
+  </div> 
           <div class="usa-card">
       <div class="usa-card__body text-center"> <svg class="usa-icon usa-icon-large" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" role="img"><svg aria-labelledby="stay-tuned-for-upcoming-events" role="img">
             <title id="stay-tuned-for-upcoming-events">stay tuned for upcoming events</title>        <use xlink:href="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/uswds/img/sprite.svg#calendar_today"></use>

pages/resources.md

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ title: Resources
         </svg>
         <h2 class="usa-card__heading text-center">Blog</h2> 
         <p class="usa-card__text text-center">Read great articles from our Blog!</p> 
-        <a href="{{ site.baseurl }}/blog/2024-08-12-whats-in-a-name/" class="usa-button usa-button margin-bottom-0"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Read blog</span></a>         
+        <a href="{{ site.baseurl }}/blog/2024-09-20-agency-directives-on-prize-competitions/" class="usa-button usa-button margin-bottom-0"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Read blog</span></a>         
       </div> 
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