X-prize

After the success of ushering in the innovation needed for commercial space travel, the X-Prize Foundation is putting its prize money into other areas such as biotechnology and energy. The nonprofit organization is said to announce later this year a $10 million prize for the first team that can sequence 100 different human genomes in a matter of weeks.

I think this is a great way to create incentives for innovation in areas that are stagnate. The X-Prize Foundation's mission is "to enable radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.”