The Open Contracting Innovation Challenge calls for applicants working with open data to strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of public procurement for the chance to win a share of USD $60,000
Open data is an important tool for innovators, being used by industries around the globe as a catalyst for innovation.
Today, the ODI in collaboration with the Open Contracting Partnership is launching the first global Open Contracting Innovation Challenge to inspire and uncover the next great ideas that use open data to innovate in the procurement sector.
Every year, governments spend over $9.5 trillion through contracts with companies to provide everything from pencils and paper to building infrastructure such as bridges, schools, and hospitals. A third of government expenditure is on public contracts. Contracting is plagued by opacity and inefficiency and is government’s number one corruption risk. Better, smarter and fairer government contracting will have a huge impact on people's lives.
How would you use data to strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of public procurement?
Through the Open Contracting Innovation Challenge, we will award USD $60,000 in prize money. The six finalists announced will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and mentoring to develop their idea further. After three months, finalists will pitch for the grand prize of $30,000. The winner will be showcased at Open Contracting 2017 in November, with a special prize being awarded for the best government innovation.
We are looking for entrepreneurs, government innovators, data journalists, civic technologists, hackers, open data enthusiasts and citizen activists who understand the transformational impact on people’s lives that better public contracting can have. We are particularly interested in ideas for projects that detect and prevent fraud & corruption, deliver better value for money for governments, create fairer competition, and drive effective goods and service delivery for citizens.
To apply, go to: http://challenge.open-contracting.org Applications are open until 24 May.