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Sprints

Learn about sprints and how we tackle national challenges.

Sprints are 12-week product development cycles that bring together tech teams and collaborators to build public-facing digital products using open data.

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2023 Sprints

A small, 5-pointed yellow star 2023

Some of the 2023 TOP sprints focus on the theme of financial and economic inclusion.

Problem Statement

Building Social Infrastructure Resilience for Local Communities

Challenge:

Create tools that help local communities strengthen and leverage social infrastructure to recover from pandemic-induced social isolation and build resilience in the face of future crises.

Agency

National League of Cities

Target Audience

Local government leaders, community organizations, and and other non-governmental organizations that support local communities.

Problem Statement

Promoting Competition in the Credit Card Market

Challenge:

Enable consumers to shop for the best credit card to meet their needs and promote competition in the credit card market.

Agency

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Target Audience

American consumers in need of a credit card.

Problem Statement

Improving Access to Electrical Power for Climate Resilience

Challenge:

Create tools or analyses that help to address any of the following energy goals: 1) inform investments in grid resilience and restoration, 2) deliver immediate benefits to our existing emergency response systems during power outages, and/or 3) provide visibility into disparities in access to energy.

This problem statement is part of our TOP University program and will include only student teams.

Agency

U.S. Department of Energy

Target Audience

Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials, community planners, and leaders in the energy, emergency response, and justice spaces that serve members of the public.

Problem Statement

Improved Data Access for Local Policymakers

Challenge:

Improve access to data for local policymakers, especially those facing resource and capacity constraints, to help them better understand and serve the place they live, work, or represent.

Agency

U.S. Department of Commerce

Target Audience

Local elected officials, local policymakers, and economic development practitioners (e.g., Members of Congress and their staff, Mayors, City Council People, County Managers)

Problem Statement

Improving Access to Capital in Indigenous Communities through Data

Challenge:

Improving Indigenous communities’ access to capital, investment, and representation in financial data sets through community-led and data-driven solutions.

Agency

U.S. Economic Development Administration

Target Audience

Indigenous communities and thought leaders, economic development practitioners, private philanthropic institutions and other funders, think tanks and nonprofits seeking to better serve indigenous communities.

Problem Statement

Tracking Federal Funding Impact in Puerto Rico

Challenge:

Design solutions that help individuals and communities to understand spending and impact of federal funds in Puerto Rico.

Agency

PolicyLink, U.S. Department of Commerce, Puerto Rico Office of Management and Budget

Target Audience

Beneficiaries of federal funding allocations in Puerto Rico, especially highly vulnerable and marginalized communities, and Puerto Rico residents interested in understanding the impact of federal spending in local communities.

Problem Statement

Reducing the Literacy Gap in Puerto Rico Households

Challenge:

Help educational organizations, government and the public gain a more robust understanding of Puerto Rican parents’ and children’s literacy, access to reading materials, and use of literacy skills.

Agency

Todos a Leer Coalition

Target Audience

Government agencies, community leaders, non-profit education related organizations, families, caregivers, school directors, teachers and other education stakeholders.

Problem Statement

Financing for Innovation and Technology Transfer in Puerto Rico

Challenge:

Help Puerto Rico-based lab-to-market entities, researchers, and entrepreneurs find and easily use information on financing and resources that advance innovation and commercialization.

Agency

Minority Business Development Agency, "Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust", Colmena66

Target Audience

The primary target end users are Puerto Rican innovators and entrepreneurs, eventually expanding to innovators and entrepreneurs in communities throughout the U.S. and U.S territories.