Originally published in Journal of Health Care Compliance — January – February 2012.

A Few Things to Consider Prior to Running a Contest to Develop an App

Mobile applications (apps) are a growing phenomenon, and many organizations are investing heavily into developing apps for various markets, including Android and the Apple App Store. The various divisions of the U.S. federal government are no exception. They are using “crowdsourcing” to tap into the vast developer talent in the United States and gathering ideas to solve various problems from developing a “simple system approach that can be employed with or as FAST rope” U.S. Air Force to having “anyone with a passion for photography…capture an image of workplace safety and health and share it with OSHA” in celebration of OSHA’s (Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s) 40th anniversary.

The Department of Health and Human Services and other various divisions with a stake in health care are also tapping into the talent by running mobile app developer contests. There are various issues you must consider prior to running a contest at your organization.