A competition platform that puts many minds to work solving tough problems.

Government

Attract New Minds to Tough Problems

LEVERAGE THE POWER OF COMPETITION
CREATE CHANGE

Streamline

Your procurement process through competitive sourcing.

Acquire

New and diverse talent with custom RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs.

Build

Trust into your procurement process through open, fair, and transparent assessment.

A Lack of Transparency

Traditional RFPs and procurement methods are cumbersome, opaque, and a drain on valuable resources. And while there has been a movement calling for transparency from governments, only 5% of citizens find their government is sharing data effectively. Leveraging the power of an open competition to source the right vendors for the job at hand will provide better results while also showcasing a more open and fair procurement process.

Build Better Systems to Solve Big Problems

Diversify Your Talent Pool

Surface new partners who would not normally apply through traditional RFPs and will bridge connections of future collaborators.

Streamline Your Procurement

Optimize the assessment and selection of project-based proposals. You will achieve better results from your procurement while saving valuable person hours.

Open, Fair, and Transparent

Ensure applicants understand how they are being assessed at every step of the competition and that they can easily request assistance when needed.

We are ready to

help your team build

the procurement system

you need.

$500M

In Asset Allocation

Our clients have relied on us to offer awards from $50 to $100 million - we help you calibrate the right incentives.

11+

Years of Experience

We will guide you through avoiding the common pitfalls of running a successful competition.

170,000+

Community of Solvers

We've registered a community of over 170,000 solvers across all of our competitions.

190+

Countries Reached

We have registered individuals from almost every country on the planet over our 10 year history.

Trusted by the World's Leading Sponsors

Government of Sweden
Open Government Partnership
New York State Energy Research & Development Authority
Department of Homeland Security: Science & Technology
County of Los Angeles
Bureau of Reclamation
Johnson & Johnson Logo
National Geographic Logo
MIT Logo
MacArthur Foundation Logo
European Commission Logo
NASA Tournament Lab Logo

Our Guarantee

Carrot is, first and foremost, a service business. We work with you to develop custom programs that are tailored to build a pipeline of crowdsourced innovation built specifically for your needs. From start to finish, we are your guide for launching and managing any innovation challenge. 

By embracing an open, transparent, and fair approach to sourcing solutions, our clients have realized more cost-effective and impactful results. Rather than relying upon a limited set of established providers, we help you tap into a broader pool of talent.

How much will this cost?

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Carrot charges on a fixed-fee basis with multiple tiers of services and with optional packages of features customizable to your needs. We do not charge as a percentage of your award(s) nor do we price our services against the capacity of your budget. We’re happy to provide more details and provide an estimate, simply Book a Demo

When is a competition most effective?

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Any time you need others to compete for your resources or attention, competitions are more efficient and effective than other approaches.

Solving problems requires investment. Once you are ready to find the right team or technology to meet your needs, sourcing those opportunities is always a challenge. By sponsoring a competition, you are merely replacing traditional models, like RFPs or other procurement methods, with a more open, transparent, and fair platform. By expanding the aperture, you will find new and exciting solutions.

Learn more about the types of competitions available to you.

Prize Programs

Prizes only pay for solutions, yet engage a wide and deeply committed pool of participants working to solve your challenges.

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Achievement Awards

Showcasing prior achievement is a longstanding tradition across a wide range of fields, but the times are changing.

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Requests for Proposals

Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and other forms of product or service acquisition represent a complicated language that must be improved to get new and better results.

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Crowdsourcing Contests

Competitions to Engage Broad Audiences

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How long does a typical program take to build?

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From the start of any engagement to launch, it takes between 3-5 months to design and develop your competition. During that process, we will recommend specific phases of submission and assessment, to ensure that you are attracting top performers and that their proposals are scored as precisely as possible. Depending upon the number and type of each phase, the actual competition may take between 6-12 months. We will work with you to determine the duration of your program to ensure it meets your needs.

How does this work?

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Every client has a different set of needs. At Carrot we will design your competition, brand it, build it, and run it for you. Our approach ensures that each program is customized for your intended outcome. This means that our clients often meet with us on a weekly or bi-weekly basis during the initial stages of program design, and then on a less regular basis during each active competition phase. We have clients that have dedicated as few as 2-3 staff and others that have empaneled multiple stakeholder parties and key partners. We will work with you to assume as much of the responsibility as you need or want.

Who owns the outcome?

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You own the assets. This is an important aspect of our services. As individuals, organizations, and/or teams register to compete, that data is yours. Similarly, we will work with you to establish ownership of any intellectual property submitted through your competition. Our ambition is to provide you with the concepts and the assessment data, so that you can select the best solution(s) to meet you needs, but we also see value in the full range of proposals. You get to pick the winning solution(s), but you also gain a more complete understanding of the many other technical approaches that may change your perspective or shift your strategic approach to implementation.

I already have a program and need help.

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Over the past two decades, the use of prizes, challenge competitions, and fellowship programs has grown at a pace of ~18% per year. Today, corporations, foundations, and government agencies are replacing RFPs and other forms of procurement with prizes. So, it is not unusual for us to work with clients who have started a program only to find that the structural and operational challenges are too great or that scaling it requires expertise. At Carrot, we help our clients realize the potential that inspired them in the first place. We are your guide to improving any program that invites others to compete for your resources.

What to Expect When You Partner With Carrot

Solve Problems Quickly

Increase your innovation capacity by open-sourcing solutions.

Engage the Brightest Minds

Connect with best-in-market solutions with tailor made programs built for your needs.

Activate a Broader Audience

Unleash hidden talent across new markets by leveraging competitions and challenges.

Maximize Impact

Find the right partner through open, fair, and transparent selection.

Develop Amazing Incentives

The best and brightest are just waiting for the right opportunity to collaborate. Let's find it.

5 Unexpected Benefits of Running a Competition

Here's the simple truth: you have more important things to worry about than becoming a competition expert. Download this free PDF to learn five ways that we can help you save time and money.