A book by Lance McNeill
Inspiring the Next Generation of Solution Builders with Lessons from the Past and a Hope for the Future
The history of challenge prizes and crowdfunding, told through the people who put their ideas, resources and persistence to work.
Some of history's most ambitious projects began with an invitation: help fund this idea, or show us how to solve this problem. Challenge US follows the people who answered those calls, the sponsors who backed them, and the obstacles they faced along the way.
Drawing on historical research and his experience with public-sector innovation, Lance McNeill explores how crowdfunding and challenge prizes can bring more people into the work of building a better future. The stories offer lessons for anyone designing a competition, supporting a project, or deciding where to put their own time and talents.
Chapter Two
John Harrison's timekeepers offered an unexpected answer to a problem that had frustrated navigators for generations. His long struggle for recognition and payment reveals how much a competition depends on the people who write and enforce its rules.
Chapter Four
The effort to fund the Statue of Liberty and its pedestal brought artists, publishers, donors and everyday supporters into a shared undertaking. The story shows how many small contributions can help make an ambitious public project possible.
Chapter Nine
Modern competitions in energy and sustainability show the promise of inviting new teams to solve difficult problems. They also expose what can go wrong when sponsors make commitments they do not fulfill.
Lessons from the stories
The book follows both breakthroughs and setbacks. Those experiences offer practical questions for people designing and supporting new challenges.
01
Define the outcome, how it will be tested, and what earns a reward. Harrison's experience and the later Virgin Earth Challenge show why changing expectations can undermine a competition.
02
A useful solution may come from someone outside the institutions already working on a problem. Consider who can afford to participate and what support they need to demonstrate an idea.
03
A promising invention still needs a path to practical use. The book follows the financing, testing and persistence needed to move from a breakthrough to something people can use.
From the introduction
“Most importantly, I hope this work will serve as inspiration to solvers standing on the sidelines and to the challenge sponsors who will encourage them to get into the competition.”
About the author
Lance is the founder of Arclight Action. His background spans public-sector innovation, entrepreneurship, healthcare operations and policy analysis. At the City of Austin, he helped design and implement open innovation initiatives and challenge-based programs. He holds a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and an MBA.
More about Lance and ArclightArclight helps organizations decide whether a challenge prize fits their problem and design the criteria, incentives and process needed to make it useful.
For an application to public accountability, read A Challenge-Prize Audit for Austin Prop I.