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.
Earth
2020
Built environment: In this sprint, tech teams including Emsi, Center on Rural Innovation, Julius Education, and others developed digital products aimed at improving the country’s built environment.
Natural environment: In this sprint, tech teams including SAP, Esri, Code for America, OpenAQ, and others developed digital products to address a variety of natural environment challenges.
Tracking Impact of Disaster and Emergency Funding
Challenge:
Create digital tools and resources to track federal financial assistance award spending starting from Federal awards and flowing down to state and/or local spend in response to one or more emergencies and disasters (e.g., COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters)
Agency
Office of Management and Budget
Target Audience
American public, researchers, engaged citizens, state/local communities, rural or tribal communities, grant/loan recipients, small businesses, managers of disaster funds, appropriators
Economic Self-Sufficiency for Low-Income Families
Challenge:
Create digital collaboration platforms that enable low income families to holistically assess their needs and connect with the best federal, state and local programs to equip and empower them toward self-sufficiency and economic mobility.
Agency
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Target Audience
Low to moderate income heads of households; case managers; guidance counselors; life coaches; community and ministry leaders; service providers; philanthropic organizations; federal, state and local government service program managers, policy makers, legislators.
Aiding Agricultural Decision-Making
Challenge:
Create digital tools that provide farmers, ranchers, and researchers with timely access to National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data to help them make important agricultural and planning decisions.
Agency
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Target Audience
Farmers, ranchers, engaged citizens, rural or tribal communities, emergency managers, state and local government, federal agencies, university researchers.
Reducing Plastic Pollution in Oceans
Challenge:
Create open data sets and engaging digital tools that complement existing citizen science plastics data, to help the public understand the amount of plastic on local beaches and in the ocean, where such plastic comes from, and actions that can be taken to alleviate the problem.
Agency
U.S. Department of State, The Wilson Center
Target Audience
Engaged citizens passionate about reducing plastic pollution, rural or tribal communities, as well as policymakers, advocates, and researchers
Developing Markets for Recycled Materials
Challenge:
Develop innovative digital solutions that connect domestic recycling facilities with manufacturers to enhance recycling markets and increase the use of recycled materials.
Agency
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Target Audience
U.S. recycling facilities and manufacturers looking to produce, sell, and buy quality recycled materials; rural or tribal communities; organizations and state and local governments striving to improve their recycling facilities and infrastructure.
Facilitating Rural Economic Development
Challenge:
Create digital tools that help rural communities access and use data to implement solutions to economic, environmental, and human health challenges, taking care to reach places that have limited professional capacity and small budgets.
Agency
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Target Audience
Local officials or other local decision makers; regional planning groups; rural or tribal communities; communities that have been impacted by recent pandemic outfall, loss of key industry, and/or extreme weather events are suggested.