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DHS Prize Competitions

Prize competitions are a way to crowdsource and engage citizen inventors directly to find interesting ideas or solutions to some of the toughest homeland security challenges. In fact, the government has used prize competitions for hundreds of years. The White House and U.S. Capitol designs were results of prize competitions.

Clean Power for Hours Prize Challenge April 2023 - February 2024 S&T Seal
 
The entry period for the Clean Power for Hours Challenge is closed. Thank you to all who submitted an entry. We will announce the Finalists in Fall 2023. Check this website for updates or follow us on social media.
 
This second prize competition on national climate resilience is part of a DHS effort to implement a proactive approach to climate change adaptation and resilience. The Challenge is designed to find innovative solutions that can help facility providers of essential services to keep operating during a power outage. View the press release.  

View full rules for the Hours Challenge at Challenge.gov.

Prizes

The total cash prize pool is $850,000. The Challenge was open to individuals who are over the age of 18 and are U.S. citizens, permanent legal residents, and businesses incorporated in the United States.

The Challenge is in two stages. In the first stage, the judges will choose up to 15 Finalists. Each Finalist will win $10,000 and automatically advance to the second stage of the Challenge. The Finalists will be announced in Fall 2023.

In the second stage, Finalists will compete for:

  • Grand Prize Winner: $400,000
  • Runner-up Winner: $200,000
  • Honorable Mentions: $50,000 (up to 2)

Prize Winners will be announced in February 2024. (All dates are subject to change.)

Description

We are looking for innovative back-up power solutions that will help critical facilities continue to operate during electrical outages. Winning solutions will be affordable, easy-to-use, and environmentally friendly power sources that can provide on-site power generation for critical facilities that provide essential services to communities across the United States. This Challenge is seeking to identify and catalyze existing cutting-edge technologies with a Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or higher that can be used to continue essential facility operations in an event of a power failure or disruption lasting more than 36 hours. 

This is particularly important to National Critical Functions (NCFs) that support essential community lifelines services (such as emergency services, urgent healthcare, and food/water).

Find more information, follow, and ask questions about the Clean Power for Hours Challenge at Challenge.gov. 

White House Releases Federal Prize and Citizen Science Authority Report

Front Picture of Report with Presidential Seal: Executive Office of the President of the United States | Implementation of Federal Prize and Citizen science Authority: Fiscal Years 2019-20 | A Report by the Office of Science & Technology Policy | In Response to the Requirements of the American COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act March 2022

Recently, the White House Office of Science and Technology released the Implementation of Federal Prize and Citizen Science Authority for Fiscal Years 2019-20 report. This biennial report to Congress details recent federal efforts to stimulate innovation and partnership and expand the American public’s participation in prize competitions and citizen science. Many exciting examples of prizes, challenges, crowdsourcing and citizen science projects are highlighted in the report. Find out how to access the report and learn more!

For questions on the Department of Homeland Security’s Prize Competitions, contact the team at PrizeAuthority@hq.dhs.gov.

Last Updated: 08/23/2023
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