Strategy
Kaptivate worked with the General Services Administration (GSA) to launch the Applied AI Challenge, a prize competition designed to solve real government problems and connect with top talent in AI, machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP).
Our approach focused on making the challenge a recruitment tool as much as an innovation tool. We:
- Scouted over 1,300 potential problem solvers across academia, industry, and government.
- Created detailed participant personas to guide communications—understanding not just skills and interests, but motivations, tone, content preferences, and influencers.
- Activated a community of AI professionals through platforms like GitHub and the federal AI Community of Practice.
- Designed clear, inspiring messaging that reflected the values and language of the AI community.
Kaptivate also organized the AI Industry Day, an event that highlighted federal efforts to embrace responsible innovation and showcased the challenge as a way to shape meaningful solutions.
Impact
The Applied AI Challenge brought fresh, diverse talent into the spotlight. With over 100 high-quality submissions and participants from all the intended segments, the challenge proved that open innovation can power both discovery and recruitment. The federal government sent a strong message: solving today’s problems can help build tomorrow’s AI workforce.
