Whether it is government budgets or corporate profits, when money gets tight in a downturn, investment in research and development suffers. The effects may not be immediate, but the impact on turning ideas into innovations and innovations into products can be profound and long-lasting. In the search for more cost-efficient-and quicker-ways to innovate, government and industry are turning to the age-old mechanism of offering prizes to spur innovation and solve problems, with the modern twist of using the Internet and social media to cast a wide net in the search for solutions.
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