Problem Statements
2018
2017
2016
Promoting Access to and Interest in STEM Fields
Challenge: Develop tools for parents and students that promote students’ interest in STEM and empower them to pursue STEM education locally.
Target Audience: Parents, students, and/or STEM advocacy groups
Potential Data Sources: Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)
Helping States Develop Education Report Cards
Challenge: Develop parent-friendly, scalable approaches to communicating data about public schools that drive insight and engagement—and meet the requirements of a recent federal law.
Target Audience: States; parents as a secondary audience
Potential Data Sources: Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)
Using AI to Connect Veterans with Registered Apprenticeships
Challenge: Develop tools that use artificial intelligence algorithms or natural language processing technology to match veterans to registered apprenticeship programs.
Target Audience: Veterans
Potential Data Sources: CareerOneStop Data, ONET Occupational Data
Increasing Government Accountability by Connecting Federal Spending and Performance Data
Challenge: Develop public facing tools that link federal spending and performance (or outcome) data to provide comprehensive insight into the use of federal taxpayer dollars across programs.
Target Audience: Engaged citizens seeking clear information
Potential Data Sources: USASpending.gov , Performance.gov
Improving Access to and Management of Federal Grants
Challenge: Develop tools that expand on existing systems to help grant recipients manage the entire grants lifecycle, helping grant managers and recipients search for opportunities, streamline reporting, and assess risks.
Target Audience: Grant managers and recipients
Potential Data Sources: USASpending.gov , SAM.gov
Using Geospatial Data to Help People Prepare for Disasters
Challenge: Create digital tools that use data to help individuals and community leaders gain a better understanding of national and community hazards and threats and enable the public to take appropriate preparedness actions.
Target Audience: Individuals ages 18-34 and influencers within communities, to include faith leaders, emergency managers, and leaders of civic organizations.
Potential Data Sources: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, USGS earthquake data , FEMA 2016 National Household Survey
Harnessing Data and Leveraging Digital Tools to Combat the Opioid Crisis
Challenge: Create digital tools and data sharing capabilities to support decisions across stakeholders responding to the opioid crisis, such as public health, public safety, law enforcement, community groups, the private sector, and individuals.
Target Audience: Physicians, insurers, VA (payers), researchers; State and Local Health Departments; Policymakers; Elected Officials, Law Enforcement
Potential Data Sources: Department of Veterans Affairs Opioid Prescribing Data, Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)
Helping Tribal, State, and Local Governments with Local Address Data Collection
Challenge: Develop resources that help tribal, state, and local governments to create and maintain open address point data.
Target Audience: Tribal, state, and local governments
Potential Data Sources: TIGER/Line Roads with Address Ranges, The National Address Database (NAD), Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA) Address Count List files
Identifying and Strengthening Civic Environmental Stewardship
Challenge: Develop tools that visualize and provide access to the patterns, overlaps, and gaps in environmental stewardship efforts in order to identify groups that support community quality of life and strengthen community resilience.
Target Audience: Public agencies, NGOs, designers, funders, researchers, neighborhood groups, and community organizers
Potential Data Sources: Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW MAP), US Census datasets
Making Federal Grants Data User-Friendly for Local Leaders
Challenge: Create digital tools for Federal financial assistance that help local leaders navigate and manage Federal grants.
Target Audience: State, local, and tribal governments, nonprofits, and universities
Engaging Communities in the Census
Challenge: Create digital tools that enable individuals and communities to see and experience the value of the Census in order to increase participation in the Census.
Target Audience: Everyone living in the United States
Youth Homelessness
Challenge: Digital tools that better our understanding of where our homeless pre K-12 students are enrolled and how well we are serving them.
Target Audience: National, state, and local policymakers, educators, and service agencies
Veterans Homelessness and Employment
Challenge: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is focused on ensuring that we end homelessness for our veterans and support them in the most effective way possible.
Target Audience: Veterans
Increasing Safety and Mobility Across the Nation
Challenge: Community advocates often have a difficult time synthesizing/disseminating complete information about issues their neighborhoods are facing. Without good data, these advocates have a hard time effectively engaging with their local governments to drive meaningful change in their community.
Target Audience: Local community leaders
Supporting Decision-Making for Student Sub-populations and their Families
Challenge: Certain mobile or disconnected student populations entering or reentering the community could greatly benefit from data and resources to support their wellbeing and success.
Target Audience: Mobile/disconnected student populations
Identifying Equity Scores and Gaps
Challenge: Develop tools that leverage data to help stakeholders understand where educational inequities exist.
Target Audience: Decision-makers (e.g. superintendents, principals, school board members, state departments of education), municipal leaders (e.g. mayors, city council members), and parents
Ending Homelessness
Challenge: Develop tools to connect potential landlords with the providers of Rapid Rehousing servicess to the homeless.
Target Audience: Emergency shelters, homeless advocates, landlords
Promoting Health and Wellbeing Nationwide
Challenge: Parents and community leaders could benefit from evidence-based tools that provide information regarding Emotional Well-Being and cultivate individual and community-level EWB.
Target Audience: Parents, local officials, health advocates, policymakers
Accessing Apprenticeships
Challenge: Job seekers who are looking for apprenticeship opportunities within their communities or in specific areas are currently unable to identify Registered Apprenticeships (RA) training/job openings.
Target Audience: Educators, college career aides, potential employers
Connecting Americans to Skills and Jobs
Challenge: Unlocking workforce data can make it easier for Americans who are chronically unemployed or underemployed to find and access new training and job opportunities.
Target Audience: Job placement professionals, community advocates
Small Town Resource Guide
Challenge: Many small towns lack the capacity/human capital to take advantage of programs (e.g. grants and low cost loans for broadband, health facilities, water systems, businesses, housing) for which they are eligible.
Target Audience: Local officials, community leaders
Summer Food Programs
Challenge: During the academic year, many students rely on school meals for breakfast and lunch. In the summer, students and families seek a reliable alternative, but information on summer meals sites is often lacking.
Target Audience: Parents, local officials, health advocates, policymakers
For more detailed information on 2018's sprints, click here for our jobs and education sprint and here for geo-cohort.