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Special Announcement

The Open Source Challenge

We are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity in conjunction with the DNI Open Source Conference 2008: "The Open Source Challenge." This is a unique occasion for representatives from academia; think tanks; industry; the media; federal, state, local, and tribal government; and other diverse sectors to use open source information to address real intelligence challenges. Subject matter experts from any field can apply innovative research techniques, thus giving new insight to the Intelligence Community.

Can you provide the most innovative and relevant answer to the Challenge questions?

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has provided two Challenge questions (below) and instructions to all conference registrants. Those who choose to accept the Challenge can submit a answer for one of the two challenge questions posed. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges consisting of senior IC representatives. The three entries judged to be the best answers to Challenge questions will be announced during the opening plenary session of the DNI Open Source Conference on September 11th and the answers will be presented at the concluding conference plenary on September 12th. The Challenge is open to all conference registrants, including those who are not able to attend due to overwhelming registration demand.

Challenge Questions

1. Using the best open sources to inform your answer, is Al Qaeda a cohesive organization with strong and centralized control, intent and direction?
   
   
2. According to open sources, who will be the global leader in alternative fuels and why?

Challenge Guidelines

1. Challenge Participants and Entries:Entries can be submitted either by individuals or teams, with no limit to the number of individuals on a team. Teams can consist of individuals from any number of organizations, rather than representatives exclusively from a single university, company or organization; multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. Each person, however, can only enter the Challenge once—as an individual or part of a team, not both. At least one member of each team must be a registered conference attendee and entries from individuals must be submitted by a registered (not necessarily a confirmed) attendee. Entries should address one of the two Challenge questions proposed; entries attempting to address both questions will be disqualified.
   
   
2. Format: Entries should be prepared as a written report with a supporting PowerPoint presentation. The report can be no more than 3 pages in length, using Times New Roman 12 point font, with a page size of 8 ½ x 11 inches; reports longer than 3 pages will be disqualified. The PowerPoint presentation cannot exceed 6 slides (including an introductory slide). The report and accompanying PowerPoint presentation must address the following topics:
   1. Challenge- what is the question posed?
   2. Issues- what are the main considerations involved in answering the question?
   3. Techniques and Tools- were any special methods or resources utilized?
   4. Key Judgments- what are the answers to the question posed?
   5. Sources- note supporting data and evidence.



3. Evaluation Criteria: Entries will be judged according to the following criteria:
   • Precision: The proposed answer should provide direct and well-supported answers to the question posed. Entries providing lengthy or interesting ideas not directly related to the question will not fare well in judging.
   • New Insight: The proposed answer should provide illuminating information.
   • Creativity: The proposed answer should provide creative ideas or employ new ways of researching and analyzing current issues. Innovative and high quality sources are expected.
   • Data Visualization: New techniques and creative data visualization approaches that communicate key judgments and supporting data effectively will fare well in judging.
   • Sourcing and Use of Open Sources: Challenge entries must be informed only by open source information. Open source information is defined (per ICD 301) as “publically available information that anyone can lawfully obtain by request, purchase or observation.” All sources must be fully documented and cited.
   • Timeliness: Timeliness of submissions will be a factor in discriminating between high-quality submissions. Participants are urged to consider balancing the speed against the quality of their answer; a quick and thorough response may be better than an exhaustive and time-consuming analysis that reveals little more.
   
   
   
4. Submission:
   • The Challenge begins when the Challenge questions and rules are distributed to registrants via email; questions and rules will also be posted on the conference website at www.dniopensource.org at approximately 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008.
   • The Challenge ends promptly at 5:00 EST on September 5th, 2008. No late entries will be accepted.
   • All entries must be sent electronically via email to info@dniopensource.org. Entries should consist of:
   • A cover sheet with contact information (does not count against the page limit).
   • A report following format guidelines and addressing evaluation criteria provided above (Challenge, Issues, Techniques and Tools, Key Judgments and Sources).
   • A PowerPoint presentation to be used at the conference should the entry be selected for presentation. The PowerPoint presentation must consist of 6 slides (including an introductory slide) following format guidelines and addressing evaluation criteria.
   • Entries will be time-dated according to submission time. Time of submission will be a factor in the judges’ decision.
   • Entries selected for presentation will be presented at the DNI Open Source Conference. Please note that the conference is a public and unclassified event, with media in attendance.
   
   
   
5. Judging:
   • Three entries will be selected for presentation at the DNI Open Source Conference.
   • Entrants selected for presentation will be personally notified on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008. Entries selected for presentation will be announced publically at the DNI Open Source Conference on September 11th, 2008, and the entrant (or one representative from each team) will present their answers at the final conference session on September 12th, 2008.
   • If a selected presentation was entered by a registered attendee who was not confirmed for conference attendance, the entrant will be confirmed to attend the full two-day event.
   • No prizes, monetary or otherwise, will be awarded.
   
   
   
6. All activities connected to this Challenge must be undertaken in a lawful manner. Submissions may not include classified or proprietary information. Submitters do not have an expectation of privacy in their submissions and all submissions may be subject to public disclosure. The United States Government (USG) asserts unlimited rights to the use of the submissions and may retain the submissions for an indefinite period. Selection to present at the conference does not confer an expectation of award, compensation, contract, or endorsement from the ODNI or USG.
   
   

The DNI Open Source Challenge
Entry Cover Sheet

Challenge Participant(s): (Name, Title, Organization)

Entry Lead: (Name, Email, Phone)

Challenge Question Selected: