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Air Force Senior Leaders announce 2018 Spark Tank Competition

Spark Tank 2019

Spark Tank 2019

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Enlisted, officer and government employees may now submit their innovative ideas for the 2018 Air Force Spark Tank Competition.
  
The competition calls for Airmen to pitch their innovative ideas to the Air Force’s senior leaders through the IdeaScale Ideation platform at usaf.ideascalegov.com, and will culminate in a showcase of those ideas in Orlando, Florida, early next year at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium.
  
"We challenge all Airmen to share their best ideas that build upon senior leader priorities to restore readiness, increase the lethality of the force and drive innovation to secure our future,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson.
  
Submissions must include a one page, single-spaced summary with the names of each team member and completed entry in the AFWERX Ideation platform.
  
Major command semi-finalist nominees are due by Nov. 21, 2018. MAJCOMs may set an earlier internal deadline for submissions in order to have time for selection. Semi-finalist submissions will also require a video, no longer than three minutes, approved for public release by the owning unit’s Air Force Public Affairs office. All submissions must be entered into the Air Force Ideation Platform before Nov. 21, however, there is no deadline for commenting and iterating on submitted ideas.
  
Two winners from each MAJCOM and two wildcard winners will each receive $2,500 from Airmen Powered by Innovation. Additionally, finalists will receive a funded temporary duty assignment to AFA-Orlando. The Air Force Spark Tank winner will also receive a trophy and the member’s unit will display the Spark Tank championship cup on behalf of the unit until unseated at a future competition.
  
Select finalists will receive funding and other resources to implement their projects.
  
Wilson announced the annual Air Force Spark Tank competition in her speech at the 2017 AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference with a goal to, “unleash the innovative capacity of our Airmen.”  

For further background on the original Spark Tank competition and the pitches from last year’s Spark Tank finalists visit here.