Sadly (for the sake of my education), I am not writing about this book. That would require actually having read it in college when assigned to do so as part of the ARHU curriculum, which definitely did not occur.
Instead, the tale of something refreshing I recently discovered: I stumbled on the challenge.gov site a couple of weeks ago, following a link in a friend's gchat status. On it, the government offers challenges that address some area of public need, ranging from creating video PSAs to developing a more energy efficient lightbulb. The competition is open to all and winners receive cash prizes.
I would imagine that, among those with the skills to create some sort of worthwhile innovation, this website is widely known. Never having heard of it before, though, I was kind of shocked that the big, creaky, slow moving federal government was capable of producing such a fresh, nimble-seeming collection of opportunities to change the world. This strikes me as exactly the sort of thing we should be doing, and makes me wonder if this crowd-sourcing-for-smart-people model could hold promise for other types of societal and organizational needs.
Many of our nation's most creative, ingenious people have no inherent interest in public sector work, often justifiably so. In my opinion, increasing their engagement and capitalizing on their many talents can only be a good thing for the country.
Instead, the tale of something refreshing I recently discovered: I stumbled on the challenge.gov site a couple of weeks ago, following a link in a friend's gchat status. On it, the government offers challenges that address some area of public need, ranging from creating video PSAs to developing a more energy efficient lightbulb. The competition is open to all and winners receive cash prizes.
I would imagine that, among those with the skills to create some sort of worthwhile innovation, this website is widely known. Never having heard of it before, though, I was kind of shocked that the big, creaky, slow moving federal government was capable of producing such a fresh, nimble-seeming collection of opportunities to change the world. This strikes me as exactly the sort of thing we should be doing, and makes me wonder if this crowd-sourcing-for-smart-people model could hold promise for other types of societal and organizational needs.
Many of our nation's most creative, ingenious people have no inherent interest in public sector work, often justifiably so. In my opinion, increasing their engagement and capitalizing on their many talents can only be a good thing for the country.
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