Innovate San Diego seeks crowdsourced ideas to address issues effecting the city.
San Diego is a city known for its commitment to innovation. With half a dozen major wireless companies headquartered in the city, it is recognized as an international hub for telecommunications. And with the University of California San Diego and over 400 biotech companies located within the greater metropolitan area, it is also a leader in the field of biomedical research.
Last year, the city also announced that it would be embracing the “industrial internet” by linking its streetlights to an “intelligent” wireless control system that would measure and manage energy usage. Designed by GE, the LightGrid, as it’s called, will replace 3000 city lamps with LED lights that are equipped with GPS beacons and wireless controls.
In fact, the city’s reputation for innovation and technological development is such that in 2010, it was designated a California Innovation Hub (aka iHub) by then-Governor Schwarzenegger's Office of Economic Development. Citing the area’s wireless business, pharmaceutical research and start-ups for medical devices and diagnostics, the city is now recognized as the technological center of the East Bay Green Corridor.
The University of California San Diego (UCSD) is ranked as one of the world's leading research institutions. Credit: ucsd.edu
Little wonder then why San Diego has joined forces with U-T San Diego to host the Innovate San Diego Challenge. This incentive challenge, which comes in two parts and will award a prize $1 million USD to the winner, seeks to produce a breakthrough on an issue that the citizens of San Diego care about most.
The Challenge will kick off on March 19th. 2015; at which point, participants will be asked to submit their ideas of what issue they want to see addressed. All ideas must be submitted as of June 11th, 2015, and must pertain to one of four major issues which make up the Ideation Stage.
The first focuses on the creation of a 21st century workforce and ensuring the San Diegans have the necessary skills to take part in it while the second involves coming up with solutions for adapting the city’s infrastructure and transportation to meet the needs of the new century.
The Danza Azteca, a regular feature at San Diego's Annual Multicultural Festival. Credit: sdcitybeat.com
The third issue focuses on ways to enhance San Diego’s reputation for innovation further, effectively making San Diego the “Start-Up Central” for entrepreneurialship and small businesses, while the fourth asks residents to think of ways that San Diego can enhance its bi-national identity on the global stage.
Once the ideas are all collected, the judges – which will include Mayor Kevin Falconer - will review them and select the top submissions. This will give way to the Proof-of-Concept Stage (which opens in September, 2015) where participants will be asked to come up with ideas for how to make the selected challenge happen.
While the Ideation Stage calls upon the residents of San Diego to submit ideas, stage two will open to anyone living outside of San Diego. The challenge is currently in the pre-registration phase and would-be participants are encouraged to sign up early!
Sources:
- HeroX.com/InnovateSanDiego
- www.sandiego.gov/
- www.utsandiego.com/
- www.business.ca.gov/Programs/Innovation.aspx
- www.forbes.com/2004/06/07/cz_kd_0607biotechclusters.html
- dailyfusion.net/2014/01/san-diego-to-link-street-lights-to-industrial-internet-26286/
- www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/solutions/control-systems/lightgrid-outdoor-wireless-control-system.jsp
