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Contests as innovation policy instruments: Lessons from the US federal agencies' experience

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  • Liotard, Isabelle
  • Revest, Valérie

Abstract

An increase of the innovation contests and their associated prizes have been observed since the 90s especially in the US through the sponsorship of the American Federal Agencies. The purpose of this article is to shed light on some of the direct and indirect effects of US federal agency contests not only on economic dynamics but also on social dynamics. Based on recent case studies, this paper describes the various positive impacts that federal agency contests may have: i) contests may display a strong incentive effect ex-ante and during the contest; ii) they may produce favourable spillovers after the contests, at innovation and economic levels in specified economic/industry sectors and iii) they may also play a beneficial social role, contributing to citizens' education and awareness. Nevertheless, as a contest remains a sophisticated device, public decision makers must comply with certain requirements if they wish to benefit from this particular policy tool in order to spur innovation.

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  • Liotard, Isabelle & Revest, Valérie, 2018. "Contests as innovation policy instruments: Lessons from the US federal agencies' experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 57-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:127:y:2018:i:c:p:57-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2017.07.008
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    Cited by:

    1. Claudine Gay & Isabelle Liotard & Valérie Revest, 2019. "Internet innovation contests: a relevant policy tool for responsible research and innovation? [Les concours d’innovation en ligne : un instrument pertinent pour la recherche et l’innovation respons," Post-Print hal-02071112, HAL.
    2. Isabelle Liotard & Valérie Revest, 2022. "Open innovation and prizes: is the European Commission really comitted?," CEPN Working Papers hal-03524203, HAL.
    3. JUKNEVIČIENĖ, Vita, 2019. "Key Factors For The Successful Implementation Of The National Innovation Policy: The Case Of Lithuania," Annals of Spiru Haret University, Economic Series, Universitatea Spiru Haret, vol. 19(2), pages 25-50.
    4. Hoppe-Wewetzer, Heidrun & Wagener, Andreas, 2019. "Multiple prizes in research tournaments," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 118-120.
    5. Aline Fugeray-Scarbel & Stéphane Lemarié, 2024. "The amplified effect of market size on innovation: A comparative analysis of pea and wheat seed value chains in France," Post-Print hal-04631965, HAL.
    6. Arnault Morisson & Isabelle Liotard & Valérie Revest, 2023. "Small Wins through Inducement Prizes: Introducing Challenge-Oriented Regional Prizes (CORP)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Fugeray-Scarbel, Aline & Lemarié, Stéphane, 2024. "The amplified effect of market size on innovation: A comparative analysis of pea and wheat seed value chains in France," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    8. Franzò, Simone & Doppio, Nicola & Natalicchio, Angelo & Frattini, Federico & Mion, Luca, 2023. "Designing innovation contests to support external knowledge search in small and medium-sized enterprises," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    9. Isabelle Liotard & Valérie Revest, 2022. "Open innovation and prizes: is the European Commission really comitted?," Working Papers hal-03524203, HAL.
    10. Silva, Sergio Evangelista & Venâncio, Ana & Silva, Joaquim Ramos & Gonçalves, Carlos Alberto, 2020. "Open innovation in science parks: The role of public policies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    11. Isabelle Liotard & Valerie Revest, 2021. "Open innovation and prizes: is the European Commission really committed?," LEM Papers Series 2021/14, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.

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