How You can Help Obama Build a Better USA
The president needs your help. With the state of the economy and unemployment figures sending shivers round government departments the White House has been looking to the crowd to innovate for a better tomorrow. And so it launched the Startup America Policy Challenge.
Start-ups are the engines of growth in many economies, and according to US government figures were responsible for the creation of 44 million jobs over the last three decades.
In today’s volatile economic climate it is creative and innovative minds that are going to get us to safer ground. And they can get us there faster if they are unimpeded, which is why President Obama’s administration issued the call for help.
Your Ideas Needed
The challenge asked entrepreneurs, students and members of the public to come up with ideas that will remove the barriers to innovation in healthcare IT, clean energy, and learning technologies. Solvers posted their ideas online and they and other members of the public were asked to translate the best ones into “Policy Business Plans” that will be shared with President Obama’s cabinet.
The administration has embarked on a mission to improve the environment for high-growth entrepreneurship, in five key areas:
- Unlocking access to capital for high-growth companies;
- Connecting mentors to entrepreneurs;
- Reducing barriers and making government work for entrepreneurs;
- Accelerating innovation from lab to market for federally funded R&D; and
- Unleashing market opportunities in industries like healthcare IT, clean energy, and learning technologies – this is where the crowd has been invited to join in. The winners will be announced on July 2nd.
Open innovation is slowly changing the way that some governments and their agencies are doing business and creating policies. It’s an entirely pragmatic and sensible approach as they realize they don’t always have the best ideas, and that there is a vast reservoir of brilliants and creative minds out there willing to help. It affords us the public a more direct way of having a say in how our towns, regions and countries are run.
Reader Comments
I'm pledging up to $2,000 from my campaign to support the Promesa Project. But I need you – over the next 48 hours – to help match that amount with your own contribution. Every dollar will help make our great state better.
Posted by Jae on June 11, 2012
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