As identified and described in figure 1, we reported in October 2016 that agencies have frequently used five open innovation strategies to collaborate with citizens and other external parties, and encourage their participation in agency initiatives. As we described in our October 2016 report, agencies can use these open innovation strategies singularly, or in combination as part of a larger open innovation initiative, to achieve a number of different purposes. Agencies can use them to efficiently engage a broad range of citizens and external stakeholders in developing new ideas, solutions to specific problems, or new products ranging from software applications to physical devices. For example, DOE’s Wave Energy Prize competition was designed to achieve a ground-breaking advancement in technology that produces electricity by capturing energy from ocean waves. DOE’s goals for the competition were to engage a diverse collection of developers to create more efficient devices that would double the energy captured from ocean waves. According to the Wave Energy Prize website, the competition, which was concluded in November 2016, produced a significant advancement in this technology. Ultimately, 4 of 9 finalist teams—selected from 92 that registered to participate—developed devices that surpassed DOE’s goal, while the winning team achieved a five-fold improvement. Agencies can also use these strategies to enhance collaboration among citizens and external stakeholders or organizations interested in an issue, and leverage the resources, knowledge, and expertise of citizens and stakeholders to supplement that which is available within the agency. These contributions enhance the agency’s capacity and its ability to achieve goals that would be more difficult to reach without this additional capacity or expertise. In another example highlighted in our October 2016 report, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts ideation initiative helps states implement innovations that improve the efficiency and quality of their highway transportation and construction projects. Every two years, FHWA engages a range of stakeholders to identify innovative technologies and practices that merit more widespread deployment. Once innovations are identified, FHWA creates deployment teams comprised of experts from FHWA, state transportation agencies, and industry to help states and other stakeholders implement these innovations. According to an FHWA report, this open innovation initiative has had significant and measurable effects in participating states. In one case, FHWA reported that deploying Accelerated Bridge Construction as an Every Day Counts innovation has allowed states to reduce the time it takes to plan and construct bridges by years, significantly reducing traffic delays, road closures, and often project costs. In our October 2016 report, we also identified seven practices and 18 related key actions, described in figure 2, that federal agencies can use to help effectively design, implement, and assess their open innovation initiatives. To do so, we analyzed and synthesized suggested practices from relevant federal guidance and literature, including public and business administration journals, and publications from research organizations, as well as interviews with experts and agency officials with experience implementing open innovation initiatives. In that report, we also illustrated how the application of these practices helped agencies effectively implement open innovation initiatives in a way that achieved intended results. Three agencies with government-wide responsibilities—OMB, OSTP, and GSA—have taken steps to support and encourage the use of open innovation strategies by federal agencies. OMB is the largest component of the Executive Office of the President, and is responsible for helping agencies across the federal government implement the commitments and priorities of the President. Among other things, it develops policies and provides direction on the use of Internet-based technologies that make it easier for citizens to interact with the federal government. OSTP is also a component of the Executive Office of the President. Among other things, it has responsibility for leading interagency efforts to develop and implement sound science and technology policies. GSA is responsible for helping federal agencies obtain the facilities, products, and services that they need to serve the public. Among other things, GSA builds, provides, and shares technology, platforms, and processes that support initiatives to invite participation from stakeholders and make data available to the public. OMB, OSTP, and GSA developed government-wide policies and implementation guidance to encourage agencies to use open innovation strategies to, among other things, advance their missions, improve programs and services, and inspire new ideas to address specific challenges. According to staff from these agencies, policies and guidance do this by: clarifying the legal authorities available to use specific strategies; highlighting the benefits and results that agencies can produce using suggesting actions for agency staff to take when designing and implementing an open innovation initiative. Table 1 lists the government-wide policies and guidance that we, in consultation with OMB, OSTP, and GSA staff, identified as key for implementing each open innovation strategy. As table 1 shows, the focus of the guidance varies across the different types of open innovation strategies. For crowdsourcing and citizen science, as well as prize competitions and challenges, toolkits provide step-by-step guidance for agency staff to follow when implementing those types of initiatives. OMB, OSTP, and GSA staff identified the U.S. Public Participation Playbook as key guidance for a variety of approaches to engage the public, including two open innovation strategies: ideation and open dialogues. They also identified the Open Data Policy and Project Open Data as the key policy and source of guidance, respectively, that cover open data collaboration initiatives. They told us that these and other resources have a broader focus, generally to help agencies inventory, manage, and release their open data. These sources do suggest some actions for agencies to take when implementing open data collaboration initiatives. However, OMB, OSTP, and GSA staff have not yet developed more detailed, step-by-step guidance for implementing specific initiatives where agencies use events or websites to engage and collaborate with outside stakeholders using open data. As one example of policy and guidance for an open innovation strategy, in September 2015, the Director of OSTP issued a memorandum encouraging agencies to use crowdsourcing and citizen science to enhance scientific research and address problems by drawing on the voluntary participation of the public. The memorandum also directs agencies to improve their ability to use crowdsourcing and citizen science by identifying internal agency coordinators responsible for seeking opportunities to use this strategy to meet agency goals. Crowdsourcing and citizen science coordinators from four of the selected agencies— DOE, HHS, EPA, and NASA—told us that having this clear statement of support has helped enhance awareness of and interest in the strategy. The memorandum was supplemented by the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit, which provides a step-by-step list of actions agencies can take to carry out a specific initiative, as shown in figure 3. These officials from DOE, EPA, HHS, and NASA told us that that the toolkit is an important educational resource for agency staff, helping those interested in using crowdsourcing and citizen science understand what the strategy can be used to achieve and the full range of actions they can take to develop and implement an initiative. An official from GSA’s Technology Transformation Service (TTS) told us GSA is planning updates to the toolkit to reflect the authorities provided by, and requirements of, the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (AICA) for crowdsourcing and citizen science initiatives. In addition to developing relevant policies and implementation guidance, staff from OMB, OSTP, and GSA told us they also provide ongoing support for the use of open innovation strategies across the federal government by: answering questions from agency staff, sharing lessons learned, and providing advice and assistance; hosting training sessions and other events for agency staff to highlight how agencies can use open innovation strategies and how agencies have had success using them; and matching agency staff in need of assistance with mentors, advisors, or partners in other agencies. Table 2 provides additional information on the types of support they provide. One example of staff supporting the use of open innovation strategies is GSA’s Challenge.gov program management team. According to an official from GSA’s TTS, this team is the primary point-of-contact for staff from other federal agencies, fielding their questions about the site or other aspects of managing a prize competition or challenge. To help familiarize agency staff with how to manage a prize competition or challenge and use the Challenge.gov platform, the team conducts training sessions and has developed on-demand videos and webinars that are available through the website. In addition, to provide tailored assistance, the team created the Challenge and Prize Mentorship Program, which matches staff seeking support with experienced practitioners from other agencies who can assist with all aspects of planning and implementing an initiative using this strategy. OMB, OSTP, and GSA staff also support communities of practice for various open innovation strategies. According to staff from these agencies, these communities provide venues to bring experienced and knowledgeable agency staff together so that they can learn from one another. Through regularly-scheduled meetings and e-mail lists, the communities allow members to share experiences and lessons learned, seek and provide advice and assistance, and ensure members are up to date on relevant issues, such as the development and release of new resources or upcoming initiatives. OMB, OSTP, and GSA staff also have leveraged the expertise of community members to develop toolkits and case studies, which capture leading practices and lessons learned to ensure they are readily available to inform future initiatives. Collectively, these communities, which are described in table 3, help staff across the federal government communicate and collaborate with one another. The federal Challenges and Prizes Community of Practice further illustrates the support such communities can provide. According to a GSA official, this community was created in 2010 to bring together staff from across the federal government interested in that open innovation strategy. According to information on the Challenge.gov website, the community is comprised of federal employees representing a wide range of agency perspectives and experience levels.