Thanks to Mark Erickson for sharing a fun list of White House Innovation Initiatives. It’s a fun list to peruse if you’re looking for fun ideas for your community. I think there’s an opportunity with some of these initiatives to me first to rural market. It would be fun to see Minnesota sweep up those first honors…
Smart Cities Initiative
An effort to invest over $160 million in federal research and leverage more than 25 new technology collaborations to help local communities tackle key challenges such as reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services.
TechHire
A bold multi-sector initiative and call to action to empower Americans with the skills they need, through universities and community colleges but also nontraditional approaches like “coding boot camps,” and high-quality online courses that can rapidly train workers for a well-paying job, often in just a few months.
Here’s the info on TechHire in MN:
The Minneapolis region will expand upon three accelerated tech training programs operating in the region – Prime Digital Academy, IT-Ready, and Concordia University – that will be training a combined 300 individuals this year for entry level software positions. The region’s work also includes commitments from over sixty employers including 3M, Target, Thompson Reuters, Best Buy and Wells Fargo and apprenticeship partners representing thousands of software development, networking, and technical support jobs. They will train and place workers without traditional IT backgrounds in software engineering and support roles. Through partnerships with the City of Minneapolis, the State of Minnesota, the Creating IT Futures Foundation, the local non-profit Jewish Family and Children’s Services, and the Minnesota High Tech Association, the local alliance will increase the accessibility of the programs by making funding available for qualified students who would otherwise be unable to afford to attend.
Select Key Partners
- Prime Digital Academy
- Creating IT Futures Foundation/IT-Ready
- Concordia University
- City of Minneapolis
- Minnesota High Tech Association
- Jewish Family and Children’s Services
Maker Movement
Empowering students and adults to create, innovate, tinker, and make their ideas and solutions into reality is at the heart of the Maker Movement. Since the first-ever White House Maker Faire, the White House has continued to support opportunities for students to learn about STEM through making, expand the resources available for maker entrepreneurs, and foster the development of advanced manufacturing in the U.S. The website includes some ways to get your community involved in the Maker Movement.
Startup America
Startup America is a White House initiative that was launched to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. Since launch, the Obama Administration rolled out a set of entrepreneur-focused policy initiatives in five areas:
- Unlocking access to capital to fuel startup growth
- Connecting mentors and education to entrepreneurs
- Reducing barriers and making government work for entrepreneurs
- Accelerating innovation from “lab to market” for breakthrough technologies
- Unleashing market opportunities in industries like healthcare, clean energy, and education
ConnectED
The ConnectED initiative will, within five years, connect 99 percent of America’s students to next-generation broadband and high-speed wireless in their schools and libraries. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon are already providing their support, collectively pledging to connect more than 20 million more students over the next two years. ConnectED will also provide better broadband access for students in rural areas, by expanding successful efforts to connect parts of the country that typically have trouble attracting investment in broadband infrastructure.