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Civic Innovation Challenge

A research and action competition in the smart and connected communities domain supporting ready-to-implement, research-based pilot projects addressing community-identified priorities

National Science Foundation

Total Cash Prizes Offered: $9,000,000
Type of Challenge: Software and apps, Technology demonstration and hardware, Analytics, visualizations, algorithms, Scientific
Partner Agencies | Federal: U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Submission Start: 04/07/2020 09:00 AM ET
Submission End: 08/03/2020 05:00 PM ET

This challenge is externally hosted.

You can view the challenge details here: https://nsfcivicinnovation.org/

Description

The Civic Innovation Challenge is a research and action competition that aims to fund ready-to-implement, research-based pilot projects that have the potential for scalable, sustainable, and transferable impact on community-identified priorities. Teams will participate in one of two tracks: Communities and Mobility or Resilience to Natural Disasters.

Prizes

Total Cash Prize Pool: $9,000,000

Prize Breakdown:

  • Stage 1: Up to 12 awards per track of up to $50K
  • Stage 2: Up to 4 awards per track of up to $1M

Rules

Teams must consist of both research partners and civic partners. For the purposes of this solicitation, civic partners may include local, state, or tribal government officials; non-profit representatives; community organizers or advocates; community service providers; and/or others working to improve their communities. For a complete list of rules, please visit the NSF solicitation at https://bit.ly/2V5arFg

Judging

Judging Panel

Panels will assess projects’ intellectual merits, broader impacts, and capability to have an impact in a 12-month time horizon. Review panels will also look for proposals that have real impact on their communities, and proposers are encouraged to tell a story about who in their communities will benefit from the project.

Judging Criteria

Panels will assess projects’ intellectual merits, broader impacts, and capability to have an impact in a 12-month time horizon. Review panels will also look for proposals that have real impact on their communities, and proposers are encouraged to tell a story about who in their communities will benefit from the project.

How to Enter

Submission URL: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/

Point of Contact

Have feedback or questions about this challenge? Send the challenge manager an email