Let's say I'd like to offer a research scholarship for open source development in the area of distributed networking. Or ____ insert buzzword here.

Is there a site where people make these types of offers and interview candidates? Do viable candidates have any interest in being funded to do open source work in the first place?

It was just an idea I had that I thought would be really fun to do. I'm thinking on the order of $10k each to 3 or 4 people for doing different projects would be a very fun way to spark some ideas and have some fun. The key point here is this isn't hired work, IP is granted to public domain, and the researcher has total independence as long as work is being done.

Anyone up for this please feel free to propose an area of research and a dollar amount. Or even better, make a proposal in your area of expertise that you would like to be funded for! (Time and Dollar/Month)