What is the AT&T Civic App Challenge - New Jersey?
The New Jersey Technology Council and AT&T, along with
other organizations across the state, are teaming on the "AT&T
Civic App Challenge - New Jersey", a "virtual hackathon" for developers
in New Jersey to leverage open data to build smartphone apps that
serve community needs.
The goal of the challenge is to encourage local developers to
build and deliver apps and services that serve community with a
particular focus on veterans; connect and engage citizens with
their governments; and demonstrate how mobile technologies can
lead to the next generation of tech jobs and investment.
This statewide challenge kicks off on September 16, 2015 and
concludes November 13, 2015. The winners are expected to be
announced in early December 2015. Special consideration will be
given to individuals or teams who develop apps that serve the
state's military veterans and their families.
Who organized the challenge?
AT&T teamed up with the NJ Tech Council and several
economic development, educational, and veterans resource
organizations.
When will it take place?
The app challenge will kick off on September 16, 2015 at a news
conference at JuiceTank, which is located at
220 Davidson Ave, Franklin Township, NJ 08873. The event will
include representatives from AT&T and other partners who will
outline the parameters of the contest.
An awards announcement will be held in December 2015 at Rowan
University, which will include a demonstration of the winning
mobile apps. The submission deadline is November 13, 2015.
During the course of the challenge, AT&T and its partners will
plan check ins, meet ups, and and other special events to provide
assistance to challenge participants and answer any questions
about the project.
How are prizes awarded?
Prizes totaling $19,000 will be awarded: One winner from each region (Northern, Central and Southern) will
receive $3,000. The grand prize winner will receive an additional $10,000, plus the chance to work with a
regional incubator that will provide business, leadership and other guidance.
Apps submitted to the challenge will be judged on potential impact on the New Jersey (30 percent), execution
and user experience (30 percent), impact on military veterans and/or their families (20), and
creativity/novelty (20 percent).
A panel of judges made up of tech experts, elected officials and community stakeholders will review apps pre-
screened by an expert facilitator to determine to what extent each satisfies the submission criteria. Judges will
rank finalists and assign prizes. All potential intellectual property belongs to the product teams or individual.
Who's eligible?
To make the challenge truly New Jersey-centric, the challenge is open to residents of New Jersey and/or
postsecondary students currently enrolled in a New Jersey college or university listed on the New Jersey Office
of the Secretary of Higher Education website. For teams, at least 50 percent of the team members must be
either current residents of New Jersey or attend one of the state’s colleges or universities. AT&T employees
and immediate family members are not eligible.
What are the regions?
The three regions* are:
Northern Region: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris,
Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties
Central Region: Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex,
Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union counties
Southern Region: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden,
Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties
*Counties for each region were identified based upon a NJ
Department of Transportation map.
What if an individual or team has created an app for another project, or had been working on one before the
challenge was launched?
While this contest is open to everyone who meets the eligibility criteria - from students to practicing engineers -
the vision is to select apps that were created specifically for this challenge.
How will developers learn about the civic app challenge?
All community partners, including AT&T and the NJ Tech Council, will invite developers to participate and
encourage their social media followers to visit this website to sign-up.
The Twitter hashtag #NJAppChallenge was established to help spread the word on social media.
Why is this challenge happening?
The goal of the challenge is to showcase New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem and encourage local developers
to build and deliver apps and services that serve community needs; connect and engage citizens with their
governments; and demonstrate how mobile technologies can lead to the next generation of tech jobs and
investment.
The challenge encourages innovative thinkers, technologists, designers, artists, entrepreneurs and developers
to create intuitive and novel mobile apps that address social and civic issues in New Jersey, with an emphasis
on creating apps that serve the state’s military veterans and their families.
Why a two month challenge?
The AT&T Civic App Challenge - New Jersey differs from the usual 24-48 hour hackathon format by allowing developers
to work remotely, at their own pace and over an extended time. This allows developers with day jobs to join the
challenge, whereas hackathons typically attract full-time college students and younger developers.
The challenge format follows a structure similar to hackathons by encouraging developers to answer specific
technical and practical challenges - in this case, leveraging public open data to develop smartphone apps with
community and social purpose with an emphasis on veteran’s issues.
Why is the NJ Technology Council involved?
In short, the challenge is aligned with the mission of the New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC). Founded in
1996, the Council’s member companies work together to support their own enterprises while advancing the
state and region’s status as a leading technology hub worldwide. A private, not-for-profit membership
organization, the Council supports the tech, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems across the state and
region, and this challenge is aligned with the organization’s mission.
Why is AT&T involved and why now?
AT&T’s multi-billion dollar nationwide investment in the mobile communications network of the future answers
the growing demand for mobile communications as consumers increasingly rely solely on their smartphones to
enhance their education, advance professional careers, organize busy lives, consume entertainment and keep
in touch with loved ones in so many ways unimaginable only a few years ago.