Impactful Design at a Glance: “Concept Sourcing”

This is the first in a series to provide an overview of the five phases of AgResults’ approach to Pay-for-Results prize competition design. For more information about the entire process, check out the full design toolkit that was published in February 2021.

Are you interested in applying Pay-for-Results prizes to your development program but not sure how to start designing the best prize competition?

We are pleased to share our “Concept Sourcing” design brief, the first in a series of five briefs that summarize AgResults’ approach to designing Pay-for-Results prize competitions. In this brief (linked here), we explain how program designers begin the process by brainstorming potential development challenges to see if a prize competition could address them.

By conducting initial concept sourcing research, analyzing the market, and evaluating the concept, designers can assess multiple ideas against an objective rubric and decide which ideas merit a deeper investigation. Being strategic from the start maximizes the chance that these competitions will successfully encourage private sector actors to develop and scale solutions that overcome local market challenges and improve the well-being of smallholder farmers.

Keep an eye out for the second design brief on “Analyzing Feasibility” that will be published soon!