The problem this guide solves
You have been thinking about running an idea challenge for a while. Every time you look into it, it feels like a big project. You worry about low participation, weak ideas, or worse, collecting a pile of ideas and then doing nothing with them.
This guide walks you through running a small, fast, low-risk idea challenge from start to finish. Not a six-month programme. Not a company-wide campaign. A focused pilot you set up this week, run next week, and have actionable results the week after. If it works, you will know how to do it again at a larger scale. If it does not, you will have learned more in two weeks than in six months of planning.
Why a 10-day timebox works
The biggest reason most idea programmes fail is not bad ideas, it is slow response. An idea submitted in February that gets a decision in October is dead, no matter the decision. The 10-day timebox forces a discipline that is almost impossible to recreate in an open-ended programme: every step is short enough that the next one cannot be deferred. Five working days for submissions maintains urgency. Three days for evaluation keeps reviewers from disappearing. Two days for decisions and feedback means submitters are still emotionally engaged when they hear back.
If something goes wrong, you have lost two weeks. The lesson is captured. Trust is intact.
Before you start: the gut check
Answer three questions honestly before doing anything else.
1. Do you have a real problem to solve?
An idea challenge needs a specific question. "How might we improve things around here?" is too vague. "How can we cut new-supplier onboarding from 6 weeks to 2?" is specific. The best questions come from the people closest to the actual work.
2. Can someone act on the winning idea?
You need a decision-maker who will say yes or no. Get a verbal commitment before you launch: "If we get a good idea from this, will you back it?" If the answer is hesitant, find a different sponsor or problem.
3. Are you willing to follow through?
Following through means responding to every idea, making a decision, and being transparent about what you chose and why. A failed challenge where nobody hears back is worse than no challenge at all.
Day 1: Frame the question and choose your audience
The challenge question is the single most important decision. A strong question describes a real problem your audience recognises, is narrow enough to focus answers but open enough for creative solutions, and can be answered by the people you plan to invite.
Examples: "What is one thing that slows you down every week that we could fix in the next 90 days?" "Where do we lose the most material in our packaging process, and what could we do differently?"
For your audience, invite 30 to 100 people who have direct experience with the problem. Include a mix of seniority levels. Avoid going broad: "send it to everyone" produces lower submission rates and harder evaluation. For deeper guidance, see how to write an idea challenge and the audience planning worksheet.
Day 2: Set up the submission process
Keep the form simple. Ask four things: a title (10 words or fewer), a description (what is the idea and how would it work), the expected benefit, and one optional field for anything else. Do not ask for ROI estimates, timelines, or a business case. Those things kill participation. See the idea submission template.
Use whatever tool your organisation already has. Structure matters more than medium. Set a clear deadline: five working days from launch is ideal.
Draft your launch email to answer five questions in order: What is the problem? Why does it matter now? What are we looking for? How do you submit? What happens next? Be specific about timing and feedback dates. The campaign communication templates can save time.
Days 3 to 7: keep it alive while it runs
Launching and going silent is the most common mistake. People submit in the first 24 hours if the topic excites them, but most need a nudge. See keep campaign momentum for the full cadence.
A simple rhythm: Day 3, send a brief update ("We have received X submissions. One theme emerging: [theme].") Day 5, remind anyone who has not submitted ("Two days left. Here is the question again.") Day 7, close and thank everyone ("The challenge is closed. We received X ideas. Here is what happens next.")
Even a short Day 4 message signals that someone is paying attention. That signal matters more than you think.
Day 8: sort and evaluate
Resist reading every idea carefully. Start with a fast triage pass. Ask: Does it address the challenge question? Could it realistically be acted on? Is it different enough to warrant separate evaluation? See how to triage ideas fast.
Sort into three piles: worth evaluating in detail (about 20-30%), not moving forward with reasons (about 50-60%), and needs clarification (about 10-20%).
For the "worth evaluating" pile, score each on impact, feasibility, and alignment with a 1-to-5 scale. The idea scoring scorecard works well. Pick the top 3 to 5. For ranking when several look strong, see how to prioritise ideas.
Day 9: make decisions
For each selected idea, answer four questions: Who owns this (a specific person)? What is the first concrete step? When will it happen? How will you know if it worked?
If you cannot answer all four, the idea is not ready. That does not mean it is bad: it needs more definition. Send it back to the submitter with specific questions.
Be honest about ideas you are not selecting. Write the actual reason, not "not aligned with strategy." Real reasons: "We tried something similar last quarter and it did not work because of X," or "This needs budget approval we do not have right now."
Day 10: close the loop
This day determines whether your next challenge gets more participation or less. Send individual feedback to every submitter. Yes, every one. See giving feedback that builds trust.
Selected: "Your idea was selected. Next step: [specific step] by [date]. [Name] will own implementation."
Not selected: "Thank you for [idea title]. We reviewed it against [criteria]. The reason it is not moving forward is [specific reason]."
Needs clarification: "We found your idea interesting but need more detail on [specific aspect]. Can you provide [specific information] by [date]?"
Generic responses like "thank you for your contribution" mean nothing and everyone knows it.
A short worked example
A 60-person operations team notices that loading-bay turnaround times have crept up. The manager runs a challenge: "What single change in our loading process would reduce turnaround time without adding cost?"
Days 1-2: question framed, audience selected, form set up, launch email sent. Days 3-7: 32 submissions arrive across the week, with two midweek nudges. Day 8: triage and evaluation take three hours total; top four selected. Day 9: two implementable inside the team, one needs another team's input, one returned for clarification. Day 10: every submitter gets individual feedback. Manager time: roughly 8 hours over two weeks. Participant time: about 15 minutes each.
What good output looks like
- The manager learns something they did not know. A good challenge surfaces information about how work actually happens that does not appear in any reporting line.
- Participants tell each other about it. Within a week of close, people mention the challenge in conversations. That informal spread is the strongest leading indicator that the next round will get higher participation.
- At least one decision happens that would not have happened otherwise. A reordered priority, a small concrete change.
What to communicate to leadership
Before: keep it factual. "We are running a 10-day idea challenge in [team] on [topic]. We are inviting [N] people. Results in two weeks." Frame it as a learning experiment.
After: lead with outcome, not activity. "We reduced [metric] by X% with two changes from a 10-day challenge. Total cost: zero. Total elapsed time: two weeks. We can do this again." Use the one-page innovation report and the after-action checklist.
After the pilot
Take 30 minutes to write down: How many participated versus invited? Quality distribution? Where was the process smooth, where was it clunky? What would you do differently? Share results publicly. If the challenge worked, plan the next within 6-8 weeks. Track signals from how to measure an innovation programme over time.
Common fears
What if nobody participates?
Start with a targeted audience, a specific question, and a short timeline. If participation is still low, either the audience does not trust that anything will happen with their ideas, or the question does not resonate.
What if we get bad ideas?
You will. Every challenge produces a range. The triage process handles this. The mistake is not getting weak ideas, it is failing to respond respectfully.
What if leadership does not support it?
Run it small enough that you do not need formal approval. Once you have results, use them to make the case for something bigger.
What if we cannot implement what we collect?
Be honest about constraints from the start: "We are looking for ideas that can be implemented within existing budget this quarter."
A note on tools
For your first challenge you do not need specialised software: a form, a spreadsheet, and email will work. The manual work adds up once you run more than two or three challenges, at which point a dedicated tool helps with tracking, reviewer coordination, and feedback templates.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a 10-day challenge with a remote or hybrid team?
Yes. The discipline of a short timebox helps remote teams more than co-located ones. The cadence substitutes for hallway visibility. Schedule launch and close at moments when the audience is most likely to be online.
What if my team has a works council or similar body?
Engage them early. In several European jurisdictions, employee representatives have co-determination rights over idea-management systems. Brief them in advance about scope, anonymity, and what happens to the data.
Should I offer prizes for the best idea?
Usually no. Cash and voucher prizes underperform recognition for sustained engagement and distort behaviour. A small token or public acknowledgement for an implemented idea works better than a competition.
How do I know whether the first challenge worked enough to do another?
Three signals. Participation rate cleared 25%. At least one idea moved to implementation, with a named owner and a date. Submitters know what happened to their idea. Yes to all three: plan the next within 6-8 weeks. Yes to two: run a smaller second challenge to fix the third.
What is the right cadence between challenges?
Six to eight weeks suits most teams. Monthly tends to be too fast at first; quarterly too slow.
The real goal of your first challenge
The goal is not to transform your organisation. It is to prove that structured idea collection works, even in a small way, and to build the credibility and muscle memory to do it again. One implemented idea is worth more than a hundred ideas in an unread spreadsheet.
Start with a real problem. Ask the people closest to it. Give them a simple way to respond. Evaluate honestly. Decide quickly. Close the loop. Then plan the next challenge. No steering committee. No six-month roadmap. Just a clear question, a small group, and the discipline to follow through.
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