Positive Peer-Pressured Productivity (P-QUAD): Novel Use of Increased Transparency and a Weighted Lottery to Increase a Division's Academic Output

Objective Evaluate a dual incentive model combining positive peer pressure through increased transparency of peers' academic work with a weighted lottery where entries are earned based on degree of productivity. Methods We developed a dual-incentive peer mentoring model, Positive Peer-Pressured Productivity (P-QUAD), for faculty in the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Division at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. This model provided relative value-based incentives, with points assigned to different scholarly activities (eg. 1 point for abstract submission, 2 points for poster presentation, 3 points for oral presentation, etc.). These points translated into to lottery tickets for a semi-annual drawing for monetary prizes. Productivity was compared among faculty for P-QUAD year to the preintervention year. Results Fifteen (83%) of 18 eligible faculty members participated. Overall annual productivity per faculty member as measured by total P-QUAD score increased from a median of 3 (interquartile range [IQR] 0–14) in the preintervention year to 4 (IQR 0–27) in the P-QUAD year (P =.051). Submissions and acceptances increased in all categories except posters which were unchanged. Annual abstract submissions per faculty member significantly increased from a median of 1 (IQR 0–2) to 2 (IQR 0–2; P =.047). Seventy-three percent (8 of 11) of post-survey respondents indicated that the financial incentive motivated them to submit academic work; 100% indicated that increased awareness of their peers' work was a motivator. Conclusions The combination of increased awareness of peers' academic productivity and a weighted lottery financial incentive appears to be a useful model for stimulating academic productivity in early-career faculty.