[imwhimsical]

Assuming I want, say somebody to build a new kind of genetically altered flower, I can ask all my friends and people around the world who would also like to have this kind of flower to pledge a certain amount of money.

A group of genetic engineers someplace in the world notice that me and my troop have collectively pledged, say $500k, and the genetic engineers actually spend some time and make such a flower. They send us a video, and we trust they've built it. We get flowers, and they get the money.

Am I right?

[rpm4321]

Yes, those are the broad strokes. For that prize amount, you would probably have multiple teams applying for the prize and providing proof of their accomplishments, and the donors would then vote on whose project best accomplishes the prize's goals.