MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO -- With only one week remaining for submissions to the Department of Defense’s Innovation for New Value, Efficiency & Savings Tomorrow Awards contest, the Marines are falling far behind other services for total submissions.
As of Tuesday, the Corps was in last place with 378 submissions, well behind the next closest competitor, the Navy, at 1,080 submissions, and a very far cry from the Air Force’s 7,644 submissions, according to the INVEST Web site.
The INVEST Awards contest has been running since Aug. 9, and encourages all uniformed service members and civilian employees to submit ideas for consideration to the DoD that will save money, avoid cost, reduce cycle time and increase agility.
"Within the department (of defense), we are launching an online contest for the purpose of soliciting and rewarding creative ideas to save money and use resources more effectively," said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
According the DoD, the goal of the INVEST Awards is to produce ideas that will yield savings while improving the way in which the Department of Defense operates.
After the contest closes on Sept. 24, ideas will be reviewed by the office of the secretary of defense, and if selected, may qualify the submitter for a cash award between $500-$1000. Twenty-five final winners will be selected by a group of senior leaders and will be announced in October, according to the DoD.
The DoD also stated on the INVEST frequently asked questions page that some of the criteria for selection will be thoroughness, cost of implementation, effect on current DoD structure, length of implementation, risk, and savings and efficiency changes in other areas the idea could effect.
The INVEST initiative is part of the SecDef’s five-year goal of saving $100 billion of defense spending.
“The goal is to make sure that our fighting forces have the resources that they need today and in the future,” Gates said during a video presentation to DoD employees.
Submissions to the INVEST initiative will be cleansed of personal identifiable information before presented for review to safeguard individual’s privacy and encourage submissions. Contact information is required, however, in case money is to be awarded.
For more information on INVEST or to submit an idea, visit: http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2010/0710_invest/.