During the live-stream yesterday, we received an excellent question from Chandra that we could not immediately answer due to time constraints. We promised to post an answer to the question in the forum. That question and its rather lengthy answer are below.

Question: What is the difference between Goals & Objectives, Radical Breakthrough, and Paradigm Shift? (Sections 4, 5, and 6 on the submission form)

Answer: To begin with, there are clear connections between these three sections and it would not be too surprising for your answers in one section to relate to the answers in another. Don’t worry overly much about what goes in one specific section instead of another. That said, there is a general philosophy behind separating these three sections to help you really dig into what you want your prize to accomplish.

Think of these three sections as a funnel, with Goals & Objectives as the broad opening, Paradigm Shift as the narrower middle, and Radical Breakthrough as the narrowest spout. Goals & Objectives encompasses everything you hope your prize will accomplish. This is the space to really dream big and be audacious! If you think your prize will lead to feeding everyone in the world, or predict every disaster, or repopulate coral across the ocean, then this is the place to say so, provided the prize you’ve conceived of supports it.

Paradigm Shift is where you start to constrain your idea. Use this space to explain why your goals won’t be achieved without the prize and what the prize will change that will enable your objectives to be reached. Maybe your prize will change who views corals as their responsibility, or empower individuals instead of governments to take care of their own energy needs.

Finally, Radical Breakthrough is where you get as specific as possible about the breakthrough your prize will create. Imagine that someone has won your prize, what is it they have created? What specifically is now possible that wasn’t possible before? Perhaps using the device that wins your prize will enable 100 off-grid homes to have power, or allow an individual living on an earthquake fault line to evacuate before an earthquake even begins.

I hope this explanation has been helpful, and that you have a little better idea of what we’re looking for on these questions. Again, don’t worry too much about the precise boundaries between each question. It’s more important to capture that overall arc from what you want your prize to accomplish, to how the actual breakthrough your prize causes will support that goal.

As always, please feel free to ask any further questions on the forum.

Yes! This is a very big help to beginners like me! Thanks!

Dear Dylan: Would the winner to be excluded from his own design in future contests?

@KansLab
Hello!
The winner of hackathon would still be able to compete in the prize they designed once it is launched. Only if the winner continues to work on the construction and implementation of their design after the Visioneering Summit in October would they be excluded from competing for the prize.

Hi Dylan, Peter mentioned in his last broadcast that a team or individual could submit more than one design for a challenge area. I would like to do this but I do not see where on the site I can create a second form with design content. Could you advise me how to do this? Thanks!

@Dylan Cohen
Hi,

I don't want to restrict creativity by adding too many rules like Peter said, but I also want to give them some tips on the best ideas out there so they have the best options: Like here's the best thing that would work: but if you have a even better idea.. Please go right ahead.

@Paul Miles
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your interest in making multiple submissions! You should be able to create a new submission using the "Begin Entry" button on the home page. Once you do, all of your entries will appear in that box. The box at the top of each page will look something like the attached screenshot. Please let me know if it does not work for you or if you're still having trouble.

@Ronnie
Hi Ronnie,
It sounds like you're on the right track and actively thinking about how to balance between being overly specific and letting teams run wild. I would add that question 1b and 1c on the submission form could be a good place to include background knowledge such as what you think might be a fruitful avenue for a team to pursue

@Dylan Cohen
Thank you so much for the kind words of encouragement. 1b and 1c tend to focus exclusively on the areas that didn't work and why they failed.. so that would be a good place to include the more promising avenues to explore as an antithesis. But I was initially inclined towards adding tips as a footnote to the rules, so it'd act more like a wiki resource and seemed more fitting. Would that be ok?

@Ronnie
If it is done well, then it should be fine. However, I would warn that one of the very common mistakes we see people making is being overly specific in their rules and essentially mandating a particular solution to the problem instead of a competition. As a footnote, your tips wouldn't technically fall afoul of that, but you'll want to make it very clear what is and is not required. It'd be a shame if your submission lost points because the rules and the general guidance you provide were easily confused for one another.

@Dylan Cohen
Thank you for that clarification, that made a lot of sense and cleared up a lot of doubts for me. I'll make all the rules very high-level clear goals to be met and segregate all the tips/recommendations completely isolated from the rules in a separate footnote section. Thanks a ton again.

@Dylan Cohen
Can you please address the Travel issue? It's a bit concerning.. How does one secure a visa if they're selected, when the announcement and hackathon are so close together?!

Dylan, Questions 7a and 7b allow 5,000 characters, which has me thinking I'm missing something. While I could use all of that allowance to describe a use of proceeds and a rollout timeline for my own idea, that would be presenting the solution and not the problem. I have difficulty doing it in generic terms. Are there examples from past designs ? Help !

@Ronnie
Thanks for bringing that issue to Dylan..

@Benson P. Lee
Hi Benson,
You can find an example answer for those questions and others on the resource tab (here: https://www.herox.com/xprizevisioneers-2018-design-challenge/resource/220). In essence, 7a should probably be no more than a number, and 7b can definitely be a sentence or two. There space is there if you need it, but you absolutely shouldn't feel like you have to use it all.

@Ronnie
Hi Ronnie,
Thank you and others for raising the travel issue. It's a complicated situation, so we'll be posting an update covering it tomorrow before the end of the day.

Hi Dylan Cohen,
I am planning to design around LENR( Low Energy Nuclear Reactor) or commonly known as Cold Fusion, which is a bit controversial topic. Multiple tests have confirmed high energy outputs and this area needs more funds to take this concept to commercialisation. I would like to know if Xprize would consider designs around such controversial ideas which might hold true potential.

Hi Praveen: I would suggest you write it up anyway. Cold fusion is a dream if ever came true. Watch video 4, you might encounter a goal too high (high bar) and may not demonstrate the result in foreseeable future not to mention the near term impact (that's what XPRIZE want). However, it's the future of mankind, I wish you success.

@Praveen Anasurya, that may be more of a submission as an answer to an Abundant Clean Energy competition (contemplated in V17). It would be a specific solution, not a design challenge. I think designing a challenge that requires a cold fusion solution would be too limiting and narrow; it is really important that an XPRIZE can attract the broadest diversity of solutions and competitors. FWIW, General Fusion is here in British Columbia where I live. My understanding is that they have been able to do some amazing things on a fraction (millions instead of billions) of what anyone else has. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Fusion

@Praveen Anasurya
Hi Praveen,
I would echo what Kanslab and Chistopher have said. We certainly don't want to discourage anyone from submitting. That said, the energy related challenge area is focused on off-grid energy access, which seems a further complication on an already complicated technology. To have a successful design you would need to make a case both that a LENR is feasible enough that an XPRIZE could conceivably lead to its construction, and that if a LENR were constructed it would somehow contribute to energy access for people who are currently off the grid. If you think you can make both arguments, then I would encourage you to submit a design. It is a very exciting technology and if you end up not submitting to our challenge I hope you will keep it in mind for future XPRIZEs.