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Mayor Byron W. Brown’s 3rd Annual Civic Innovation Challenge Powered by AT&T encourages local developers and entrepreneurs to partner with City departments to create software solutions the City can leverage to foster innovation and efficiency in the way City services are provided to residents.

This year’s Challenge will provide a stronger opportunity for participants to hear from City departments about what types of solutions would be most helpful. City departments have developed nine (9) pitches to address civic challenges with potential technological solutions, and thereafter departments will make themselves available during the duration of the Challenge to provide insight on City operations and feedback on the design and usability of projects.

Contestants will be able to work independently or build teams and will be required to build a working prototype of their solution over a two-month development period. The Grand Prize winner will receive the following prize package:

  • $10,000
  • Municipal Beta Testing
  • Individualized Business Assistance
  • Angel Investor Pitch Meeting

The Challenge is designed to elevate civic engagement, enhance the capacity of municipal operations, and demonstrate a practical way in which the civic technology community in Buffalo can play a role in making our city an even better place to live, work, study, and play.

AT&T’s partnership with Mayor Byron W. Brown and the City of Buffalo in hosting this innovative challenge grows out of the company’s commitment to advancing technological innovation in New York. Through its multi-billion dollar nationwide investment in the mobile communications network of the future and dedication to foster local innovation across the Empire State and Western New York, AT&T provides opportunities for data scientists, coders, and developers to create new technologies that could positively impact their communities and strengthen the local innovation economy. As an industry leader for decades in data insights, AT&T harnesses the principles of openness and collaboration to accelerate innovation, aligning with the underlying objectives of Mayor Byron W. Brown’s Civic Innovation Challenge Powered by AT&T.