State announces Colorado Innovation Challenge during Denver Startup Week

Denver, September 17, 2013 -  Gov. John Hickenlooper and Secretary of State Scott Gessler today announced the Colorado Innovation Challenge. The challenge will inspire the development community to create tools using publicly available data housed in the newly-created Business Intelligence Center.

"Colorado is embarking on yet another innovative approach to strengthen our business environment through the Colorado Innovation Challenge," Governor Hickenlooper said. "Harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit and talented minds of Colorado’s technology community to utilize publicly available data with the goal of solving business challenges in our state is a stellar example of a public-private partnership that will benefit Colorado’s economy." 

"The Colorado Innovation Challenge is an example of public policy at its finest," Secretary Gessler said. "We’ve built a broad, bipartisan group in government to tap the best minds in the private sector. The challenge will take real business problems that can be solved with better access to public data and challenge our technology community to develop unique programs and applications to benefit Colorado’s small businesses."

As part of the normal course of duties, Colorado government agencies collect volumes of public business and economic data. This data could help businesses with strategic planning, but it currently exists in many different places and formats making it difficult for most businesses to use. The Business Intelligence Center will streamline access to public data by consolidating the access point and by providing resources to make the data useful.

The Business Intelligence Center’s Innovation Challenge will address real business decision-making problems with web or mobile applications created by Colorado’s robust technology community. To achieve success, Colorado businesses will be asked to provide challenge questions—problems they would like to solve using public data. The development community will build applications designed to address the opportunities identified by small businesses. Challenge participants will be eligible to receive $100,000 in financial incentives and other services, like office space and mentorships.

"The Colorado Innovation Challenge is just another example of why Colorado is recognized as an emerging entrepreneurial and technology leader," said Erik Mitisek, CEO of the Colorado Technology Association. "The broader business community will benefit from an unprecedented level of access to and usability of public data and the winners of the challenge will be creating commercially viable products themselves."

Receive updates about the Innovation Challenge and learn more about the Business Intelligence Center