Public Funding & Prize Competition SME - Freelance

**Location:** Remote (United States) **Duration:** Through April 2027 **Overview** This is a fixed-fee independent contract engagement for a funded research study examining how prize competitions and other open-innovation mechanisms are used—and under-used—to fund scientific research. The study investigates both how universities perceive prize-based funding and what prevents program officers who oversee research budgets from choosing that mechanism over traditional grants. Findings are intended for publication and must meet academic standards of rigor. You will own the institutional half of the study, focusing on interviewing program officers and prize leads, mapping barriers to prize competition adoption, and designing practical tools to remove those barriers. You are one of four independent specialists on this study, working alongside experts in academic funding, qualitative research, and research data and strategy. **Key Responsibilities** - Conduct approximately 30 interviews with program officers, prize and challenge leads, open-innovation practitioners, and counterparts across peer organizations - Produce recordings and structured written summaries suitable for delivery to the client - Author the assessment of procedural, cultural, and budgetary barriers program officers encounter when initiating a prize competition, aggregated into clear key findings - Design the guidance document including training, decision frameworks, and practical tools that would let a program officer integrate prize mechanisms alongside traditional grants to achieve mission objectives - Pressure-test every recommendation against real budget, acquisition, and authority constraints so it holds up in practice rather than only on paper - Advise the wider team on how public sector funding decisions are actually made, so the academic-side findings connect to something actionable **Required Qualifications** - 8+ years working inside or advising the public sector research funding enterprise—as a program officer, prize or challenge lead, innovation office staff, or in a comparable capacity - Working knowledge of how public research budgets are allocated and executed, and of the regulatory and process environment governing grants and prize-based funding - Direct familiarity with prize competitions or other crowdsourcing mechanisms in a public sector context, including why they stall - Proven ability to conduct candid interviews with senior officials and to write up sensitive findings responsibly - Ability to turn a diagnosis into a decision framework that a busy non-expert practitioner can actually use - Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills **Preferred Qualifications** - Direct experience designing, launching, or administering a public sector prize or challenge program - Familiarity with the statutory and policy frameworks that authorize prize competitions in the public sector - Experience building training or guidance materials for program staff - An existing professional network among program officers that would support interview recruitment **Work Location & Requirements** - Must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (firm requirement that cannot be waived) - Must be physically located in the United States for the full duration of the contract and perform all work from within the U.S. - Must be able to successfully complete a standard background check and any onboarding or compliance training required before starting work - Must have a professional, quiet remote working environment with internet connectivity capable of sustained video calls and live presentations - Work is performed fully remotely from within the United States on a flexible schedule, with the exception of scheduled interviews and team checkpoints