No it's not up to Charlie to help Bob. It's up to Paul to come in and fill the gap that Alice and Bob are both missing. Price is enough I would argue, what's missing is that there are unknown constraints that are inflexible. I'd posit its something put down by government but anything is possible.
I think you are both right, once you "de-identify" said resources and cash. That is, the constraint here is not cash but brains/skills/knowledge/time/effort. Many people simply don't know what is possible. I used to run continuously into this kind of problem when I worked for other people (guys who just don't know what is _possible_, not even talking about being able to do it).
It sounds like we have already moved from this is an impossible request to this is a difficult and impractical request. Setting up a government competition with a prize to solve a hard problem seems reasonable.
There are different ways something can be blocked. It's possible something is too complex to wrap your head around and you need an extra set of eyes and brains, or it might be blocked by outside impediments. It doesn't really matter, all obstacles need to be addressed and solved somehow.
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