City Tech Awards 2019 Connect Chicago Innovation Program Funding

City Tech Collaborative is pleased to announce the 2019 Connect Chicago Innovation Program winning team: The Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University (IHS) and MAPSCorps. The Institute for Housing Studies is an applied research center based at DePaul University that provides analysis and data to inform affordable housing and community development policy and practice. MAPSCorps trains youth to produce high quality data about community assets to improve resident conditions in high-poverty areas. Together, the organizations will create data indicators, sustainable processes, and tools to help community organizations access, analyze, and compare neighborhood-level data that can be leveraged to support local policies and issues. The team will receive $60,000 towards their project through City Tech’s Connect Chicago Innovation Program.

The project will focus on filling key information gaps and creating a tool for organizations to understand data around gentrification, displacement, and the preservation of community assets in Chicago neighborhoods. For the initial pilot, the team will collaborate with Elevated Chicago, a collaborative that drives transit-oriented development to improve neighborhoods without displacing current residents. Ultimately hoping to grow the processes and tool for other audiences, the project will be structured with replicability in mind.

Through the Connect Chicago Innovation Program, City Tech Collaborative will apply its City Solutions process to guide the team. IHS, MAPSCorps, and community experts met on July 18, 2019 to kick off the workshop process at DePaul’s campus. Attendees discussed the initial concept, metrics for success, and community impact. Following the workshop, IHS and MAPSCorps will refine their project and develop a scope of work.

City Tech’s Connect Chicago Innovation Program supports collaborative, new ideas to increase tech access, skills, and engagement across Chicago. The donor-advised fund is supported by Microsoft, Comcast, Sprint, the Lenovo Foundation, Gogo, Clarity Partners, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The project proposed by the Institute for Housing Studies and MAPSCorps was chosen by a selection committee comprised of the donors and other local stakeholders such as the City of Chicago.

City Tech launched the Connect Chicago Innovation Program in 2018; last year, AnitaB.org and ISACA were awarded funding to test the impact of free cybersecurity training on workforce outcomes for underrepresented women entering technology fields. Through City Tech’s collaborative process, AnitaB.org and ISACA were connected to a team of stakeholders pledging in-kind resources and expertise to the pilot; Bosch, City Colleges of Chicago, the City of Chicago, Clarity Partners, Comcast, Columbia College of Chicago, DePaul University, the Grand Victoria Foundation and Microsoft contributed resources to the pilot including mentorship opportunities, classroom space, and equipment. A total of 21 students enrolled in the program, with 19 students completing the eight-week classroom course. The course also included lunch and learn opportunities with industry speakers regarding cybersecurity jobs, resume building, and networking.


About City Tech Collaborative (City Tech): City Tech reinvents cities. We convene cross-sector leaders to tackle urban problems that are too big for any one group to solve on its own. We remake essential city services and infrastructure using advanced technology and then expand these solutions to other cities. With our partners, we have diverted rainwater from overloaded sewer systems, eased subway congestion during large events, and launched a digital directory of public health services. Chicago is our proving ground and every city is a potential partner. To learn more, follow City Tech on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About the Author: Laura Vecchetti is the Communications and Grants Associate at City Tech Collaborative. As a member of the Partnerships and Communications Team, Laura works to connect City Tech with the community. Prior to joining the team, Laura was the Development and Communications Coordinator at Nexus Onarga Academy, a national nonprofit providing specialized mental health services for children, youth, and families, where she helped secure funding for therapeutic programs. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Bradley University.