I looked at some of the Pepsi Refresh ideas. I think there is potential for contests like this, but they're not quite there yet. The big problem that I see is that there isn't any incentive to a random outsiders to vet ideas. How do ideas end up winning? Is it mostly marketing? Spreading links on social networking sites? I'm not sure crowd sourcing will be that effective in selecting great ideas.
Some of the top entries didn't seem that impressive. The top in the $5k category is an investment of $100 in leadership training and video games. I'm a little skeptical of leadership training, and the whole program reminds me a lot of the retreats colleges love so much but that I tend to think are a waste.
Maybe the idea is great, which is the key insight here. in the long run models programs that can be replicated in different communities will emerge. We can take these "abstract" programs, do randomized evaluations of them, and build a list of proven interventions worth brining to scale.
No comments:
Post a Comment