Governing Principles For Use Of Challenge.Gov
OBJECTIVE: To clarify expectations for US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees utilizing the challenge.gov platform for posting and managing challenges (i.e. identified problems for which they seek solution(s) from members of the public) on behalf of the Department. This document establishes levels of access to the Challenge.Gov platform, and outlines responsibilities for administering, creating, and moderating challenges on behalf of HHS.
JUSTIFICATION: Challenge.gov is an online challenge platform administered by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in partnership with GSA contractor ChallengePost that empowers the U.S. Government and the public to bring the best ideas and top talent to bear on our nation’s most pressing challenges. It is available at www.challenge.gov GSA has created an HHS group designation on this platform where all HHS units can post and advertise their challenges. There are also subgroups designations where HHS operating and staff divisions can list their challenges as well.
ADMINISTRATIVE HIERARCHY: Below are the designated access levels for HHS employee participation in the Challenge.gov platform. This document does not authorize the performance of inherently governmental functions by individuals or entities other than federal employees.
HHS Challenge Administrators
- Control all HHS and Subgroup Pages
- Add HHS Challenge Administrators, Subgroup Administrators and Challenge Creators
- Create and edit any challenges
HHS Challenge Administrators for Agency-level Pages (i.e., “Subgroup Administrators”)
- Control designated Subgroup Page
- Add HHS Challenge Subgroup Administrators and Challenge Creators
- Create and edit any challenges
HHS Challenge Creators
- Create and edit challenges
- Moderate submissions
- Moderate blog and discussion content
- Invite judges and moderators
HHS Challenge Moderators
- Moderate submission content
- Moderate blog and discussion content
SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE: The HHS Innovation Council is the primary entity within HHS responsible for approving HHS employee requests to post challenges on the Challenge.Gov platform. HHS employees who have been granted privileges by the HHS Innovation Council to administer, create or moderate challenges on the Challenge.Gov platform on behalf of HHS should be knowledgeable about the following requirements:
HHS Challenge Administrators and Subgroup Administrators will:
- Agree to review and abide by the HHS-wide policies and guidance documents available at http://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/challenges/index.html Where applicable, will also agree to abide by agency-specific policies and guidance documents.
- Inform HHS Challenge Creators that they must ensure that all challenge material is reviewed and approved in accordance with HHS policies.
- Provide any relevant policy and/or technical guidance to HHS Challenge Creators.
HHS Challenge Creators will:
- Agree to review and abide by the HHS-wide policies and guidance documents available at http://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/challenges/index.html Where applicable, an HHS Challenge Creator will also agree to abide by agency-specific policies and guidance documents.
- Ensure that all challenge material (e.g. Federal Register notice and equivalent materials for non-COMPETES challenges) is reviewed and approved in accordance with HHS policies.
- Edit/update content for challenges for which they are responsible. If using an outside vendor to run the platform, the HHS Challenge Creator will update the challenge.gov platform to include information about the contest winners.
- Actively moderate contest blog and discussion content on Challenge.Gov, agreeing to promptly respond to questions raised by participants.
- Upon completion of the challenge, provide all tracking information (financial and non-financial) per instructions provided by the Office of the HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration.
- Provide any relevant policy and/or technical guidance to HHS Challenge Moderators
HHS Challenge Moderators will:
- Agree to review and abide by the HHS-wide policies and guidance documents available at http://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/challenges/index.html Where applicable, an HHS Challenge Creator will also agree to abide by agency-specific policies and guidance documents.
- Actively moderate contest blog and discussion content on Challenge.Gov, agreeing to promptly respond to questions raised by participants.
