Following a congressional directive in its FY 2006 Appropriations Act, the National Science Foundation asked the STEP Board to "propose a plan for administering prizes to individuals or teams that achieve novel solutions to specified social or research needs or capitalize on recognized research opportunities." A committee under the STEP Board concluded that an ambitious program of innovation inducement prize contests would be a sound investment in strengthening the infrastructure for U.S. innovation and that NSF, although inexperienced, is well suited to designing an experimental program that could add substantially to understanding regarding the appropriate goals of such contests, the motivations of participants and sponsors, and the rules and conditions that contribute to successful contests. The committee recommends that NSF start off with a series of small-scale prizes ($200K - $2M) in diverse areas while beginning to plan for much more ambitious contests ($3M-$30M) that would address significant economic or social challenges and be conducted over several years. The report addresses many of the generic issues that arise in administering innovation prize contests (types of contests, eligibility to participate, disposition of intellectual property rights, and decisions regarding awards) and explores 7 research and technology fields that might lend themselves to prize contests.

Contents: (1) What are the Different Kinds of Prizes?; (2) What is the Status of Federally-Funded Innovation Inducement Prizes?: DoD Wearable Power Prize; DARPA Grand Challenges; DoE Grand Challenges; Progressive Auto. X PRIZE; Amer. Le Mans Series Green Challenge Race; NASA Centennial Challenges: Astronaut Glove Challenge; General Aviation Technology; Lunar Regolith Excavation Challenge; Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge; Power Beaming and Tether; Lunar Oxygen Production or MoonROx; NASA Assessment of Program; Future Competitions; Biomed. Advanced R&D Authority Project BioShield; (3) What Policy Options Might Members of Congress Consider?: Create New Prizes; Modify Current Prize Programs.

ÔThe recent renaissance in the use of prizes to spur innovation and extraordinary novel performance warrants close attention. Luciano Kay does so through a series of compelling case studies which shows the potential of prizes, the range of factors that influence their performance and the importance of understanding their non-pecuniary dimensions, even when there is a substantial purse. This is an important contribution to the innovation literature.Õ Ð David J. Teece, University of California, Berkeley, US ÔIn the last decade innovation prizes have caught the imagination of policy makers and rich donors alike; those who actually care about the process and outcome of prizes and not only the hype, would do well to read LucianoÕs new book.Õ Ð Dan (Danny) Breznitz, Georgia Institute of Technology, US Inducement prizes Ð in which cash rewards are offered to motivate the attainment of specific targets Ð have long been used to stimulate scientific discovery and technology research and development. This volume presents an empirical investigation of the effect of these prizes on innovation. In this in-depth study, Luciano Kay focuses on three recent cases of prize competitions in the aerospace industry: the Google Lunar X Prize, the Ansari X Prize and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. Using a combination of real-time and historical analysis based on personal interviews, workplace visits and questionnaire and document data analysis, the author examines the particular dynamics of the prize phenomenon and offers a comprehensive discussion of the potential of prizes to induce innovation. This fascinating volume also sets out a systematic method to studying prize incentives, offering a concrete innovation model and case study design approach that will prove highly useful to further research efforts in the field. Scholars, policymakers and corporate officials interested in incentives for innovation and the practical implementation of prize competitions will find this an invaluable resource. Potential prize sponsors and entrepreneurs, professionals and other individuals or organizations interested in participating in such competitions will also find much of interest in this groundbreaking book.

Innovation underpins competitiveness, is crucial to addressing societal challenges, and its support has become a major public policy goal. But what really works in innovation policy, and why? This Handbook, compiled by leading experts in the field, is the first comprehensive guide to understanding the logic and effects of innovation polices. The Handbook develops a conceptualisation and typology of innovation policies, presents meta-evaluations for 16 key innovation policy instruments and analyses evidence on policy-mix. For each policy instrument, underlying rationales and examples are presented, along with a critical analysis of the available impact evidence. Providing access to primary sources of impact analysis, the book offers an insightful assessment of innovation policy practice and its evaluation.

The economics of intellectual property and R&D incentives explained in a balanced, accessible mixture of institutional details and theory.