Impactful Design at a Glance: “Right-Sizing Prizes”

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

Are you designing a Pay-for-Results prize competition and trying to figure out how to size the prizes to effectively drive participation without overpaying for results?

We are pleased to share our “Right-Sizing Prizes” design brief, the fourth in a series of five briefs that summarizes AgResults’ approach to designing Pay-for-Results prize competitions. In this brief (linked here), we explain how program designers can use different approaches to size and validate a prize purse so that it is appropriate for the target competitor and the complexity of the target problem.

By considering the project’s goals and actions it intends to motivate, as well as the investments that competitors may make along the way, designers can ensure that a prize doesn’t end up overpaying and distorting the market or underpaying and failing to incentivize competitor action.

Keep an eye out for the fifth design brief on “Verification and Project Management” that will be published soon!