Prize Challenge

Cities Brought the Challenges. Innovators Bring the Solutions.

Cities shared a challenge, and now we need your help solving it. Technology solution submissions close January 15.

Enter the City Data Challenge.

Cities generate enormous amounts of data across departments, agencies, and systems every day. Yet much of that information remains siloed, difficult to access, and disconnected from decision-making. As a result, city staff often rely on manual processes, duplicate work, incomplete information, and disconnected workflows that slow service delivery and reduce operational effectiveness.

The City Data Challenge seeks innovative technologies that help local governments unlock the value of their data and create a more connected, responsive, and efficient city.

We are looking for solutions that transform fragmented information into actionable intelligence, improve coordination across departments, and help city leaders make better decisions faster. Successful innovations should work with existing city infrastructure and systems while enabling trusted data sharing, operational visibility, predictive insights, and measurable improvements in service delivery.

Solutions may leverage artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics, digital platforms, automation, sensors, visualization tools, modeling, or other emerging technologies. However, technologies should augment public servants rather than replace them. Proposed solutions should prioritize transparency, privacy, interoperability, open standards, human oversight, and demonstrable public value.

what we want to see

Applicants should demonstrate how their solution can:

  • Connect data from multiple city systems and departments

  • Eliminate manual processes, duplicate work, and operational silos

  • Improve visibility into city operations through dashboards, analytics, or decision-support tools

  • Enable real-time or predictive insights that improve planning and service delivery

  • Improve resident access to information and city services

  • Support data-driven resource allocation and policy decisions

  • Integrate with existing municipal technology environments

  • Deliver measurable operational, financial, environmental, or community outcomes

  • Maintain appropriate privacy, cybersecurity, governance, and human oversight practices

AREAS OF INTEREST

Applicants should address one or more of the following city challenge areas:

Solutions that create a trusted, shared operational picture across departments by integrating data from disparate systems, improving interoperability, and enabling coordinated action

Technologies that simplify how residents access city information, submit requests, navigate services, communicate with government, and receive multilingual support

Solutions that help cities manage transportation systems, utilities, buildings, public assets, and infrastructure investments using real-time data and predictive insights

Technologies that improve transit operations, traffic flow, parking management, event mobility, fleet operations, and multimodal transportation planning

Solutions focused on flood prediction and response, heat monitoring, air quality, storm coordination, resilience planning, emissions reduction, and climate adaptation

Tools that enhance situational awareness, emergency response, code enforcement, neighborhood risk identification, public health insights, and community resilience

Technologies that improve workforce productivity, training, knowledge management, service coordination, permitting, and performance measurement

Solutions that support housing initiatives, homelessness response, neighborhood revitalization, small business engagement, and equitable economic development

Innovations that improve waste management, recycling, reuse programs, litter reduction, resource recovery, and environmental stewardship

desired solutions characteristics

Competitive submissions will demonstrate:

  • Scalability across cities of different sizes

  • Practical deployment pathways and manageable implementation requirements

  • Quantifiable outcomes and performance metrics

  • Compatibility with existing municipal technology ecosystems

  • Responsible use of AI and automation

  • Strong cybersecurity and data governance approaches

  • Replicability across multiple cities and jurisdictions

  • Clear return on investment for local governments

One challenge. Two steps.
New possibilities.

FOR CITIES
Step 1: Bring the challenge.

What does your city need help solving? Tell us about a real problem affecting your community. You don’t need to have the answer; that’s where innovators come in.

The top 50 city submitters receive:

  • Free pass to attend the event

  • Exclusive invitation to a city-only networking reception

  • Free hotel accommodations for up to three nights

If your challenge is selected, we may also invite you to serve on the review panel.

Deadline: October 15. Open to municipal employees only. Multiple entries welcome.

FOR TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS
Step 2: Bring the solutions.

Put your ideas to work on a challenge identified by cities. Once we select the challenge, we’ll invite technology providers to show how they would adddress it.

The top 10 finalists will pitch on site:

  • Three winners will share $50,000 in prizes

  • Showcase your approach to an emerging city need

  • Meet your match. Connect with cities who’ve declared a city need you know you can help solve.

TIMELINE

SCROLL TO EXPLORE
NOW – OCT 15
Cities share their challenges
OCT 6
11:30 AM ET
Informational webinar for cities
CHALLENGE SELECTION
One need sets the stage
We review city submissions and select one challenge for the call for solutions.
NOV 10 – JAN 15
Innovators respond
JAN 7
1:30 PM ET
Informational webinar for solution providers
Register →
EARLY FEB
Notify semifinalists
FEB 18
Virtual Semifinalist Pitch
LATE FEB
Finalist notification
TBD
Finalist pitch and award reception

View the Informational
Webinar for Cities

QUESTIONS: Contact Katie O’Connor, katie.oconnor@techconnect.org