A good idea isn't enough. Ted Giovanis explains why government programs can fail at three critical stages: the idea, development and execution.

I argue that there is different, bureaucratic golden rule at play– the guy with the gold makes up the rules. Those with the power to dole out funds can influence and achieve their intended goals through the scoring criteria they use to evaluative proposals, who they place on the review section panels and who they chose to use. Through these mechanisms, they could (and perhaps do) influence what and who gets selected.