Governor Pat Quinn has declared April 3rd to be Illinois Innovation Day. Christopher Whitaker, consultant to Smart Chicago, will be representing us in Springfield tomorrow. Here’s a look at the work that Smart Chicago Collaborative has done at the state level.
Illinois OpenTech Challenge
The purpose of the Illinois Open Technology Challenge was to bring governments, developers, and communities together in a common mission to use public data and create digital tools that will serve today’s civic needs and promote economic development. We worked with government officials to publish 138 new datasets (34 in Champaign, 15 in Rockford, 12 in Belleville, and 77 from the 42 municipalities South Suburban Mayors & Managers Association). We’ve also worked with developers in meetups all over the state-—in 6 locations in 4 cities with 149 people. We’ve done outreach in each of our communities to to reach regular residents with needs that can be addressed through data and technology. Here’s an infographic on our work to date:
The Illinois Open Technology challenge has also led to the creation of the Rockford Code for America Brigade. This group was formed after we held the Illinois OpenTech Challenge even last October. This has also led to interest in starting a Brigade in Springfield, Illinois and Code for America will be hosting a meet & greet that day too.
Illinois Public Health Datapalooza
The Illinois Public Health Datapalooza Challenge – an Illinois Department of Public Health Challenge designed to highlight the availability and benefit of Open Health Data from government agencies. The challenge was part of a two-day Illinois Public Health Datapalooza event focused on developing and sharing innovative ways to work with open health data in an effort to drive innovation and create better health outcomes in Illinois and in cities and states across the country.
The apps that won were the Illinois Teen Pregnancy and STI Hotspot detector, Measles in Illinois: Then and Now, and Healthnear.me.
Continued partnership with the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition
Much of our work with the State of Illinois would not be possible without the awesome work of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition. ISTC drives the state’s innovation economy forward through their role as a convener, catalyst and champion for Illinois businesses, research institutions and government. ISTC also spearheads the Illinois Innovation Network which serves as a common platform to connect startups, innovation-driven enterprises, service providers, research and academic institutions, and community leaders to position Illinois as one of the world’s top innovation centers.
If you’re going to be at Illinois Innovation Day, feel free to reach out and say hi!