City Tech Collaborative Named Winner of 19th Annual Chicago Innovation Awards

CHICAGO – City Tech Collaborative has been named one of 23 winners of the 19th annual Chicago Innovation Awards.

The winners were announced at this year’s virtual event held on Monday, October 19th, 2020. The Chicago Innovation Awards are the Chicago region’s foremost recognition of the most innovative new products or services brought to market each year.

City Tech received this year's Wintrust Chicago Neighborhood Award for its work on the Chicago Health Atlas; the award recognizes organizations solving problems for Chicago’s neighborhoods and residents.

The Chicago Health Atlas is a community health data resource for residents, community organizations, and public health stakeholders. With financial support from the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute, the MacArthur Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Atlas debuted as the number one resource and repository for health data in Chicago and now contains over 175 indicators, including healthcare services, safety, income, and illness and death rates. Data within the Atlas is aggregated from over 30 local, state, and national sources and displayed in a variety of interactive formats such as charts, graphs, and maps which can be printed and downloaded for use. Atlas technical partners and key data contributors include the Chicago Department of Public Health, MAPSCorps, Clarity Partners, Sinai Urban Health Institute, and the Partnership for Healthy Cities.

Health organizations are racing to understand how health and wellness factors impact the spread and severity of COVID-19. The Atlas provides neighborhood-level data to help residents and health organizations access resources and understand important public health trends. The Atlas illustrates racial disparities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and underscores the need for further research and direct action to reduce health inequities.

City Tech responded to this need by expanding the Chicago Health Atlas’ resources for users to access and understand data that can be linked to COVID-19 trends and outcomes. The latest updates to the Atlas now include links to the COVID-19 data and testing locations, data on underlying conditions tied to the virus, and a map of essential businesses by zip code using HERE Technologies data. Resources also include maps that show the correlation of underlying health indicators and COVID-19, allowing users to compare COVID-19 cases and deaths with underlying health conditions such as asthma, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more.

“In this year of a global pandemic, innovation is needed now more than ever,” said Tom Kuczmarski, co-founder with Chicago journalist Dan Miller of the awards. “2020 winners are solving big problems in healthcare, community and workforce development, education, finance, agriculture, electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, drug development, business services, and more.”

Beyond COVID-19, the Chicago Health Atlas’ wide range of data can shed light on other concerns such as air quality, opioid-related deaths, and on deaths related to chronic health issues. Understanding this data, the impact of health indicators on specific communities, and the relation to health and wellness barriers is critical to improving the lives of vulnerable populations. The Chicago Health Atlas puts information in the hands of the communities that need it most, thus empowering residents, community organizations, nonprofits, and municipal agencies to understand and meet the needs of their stakeholders more efficiently and equitably.

“The effects of COVID-19 have highlighted the need for data transparency, informed action, and collaboration,” said Brenna Berman, CEO of City Tech. “Open data platforms like the Chicago Health Atlas put data directly in the hands of residents, healthcare providers, policymakers, and community organizations that can assess what is happening and deliver local support where needed most. We are honored to be a recipient of this year’s Chicago Innovation Awards and be recognized, along with our partners, for this work.”

The winning organizations receive a variety of honors including the opportunity to ring the Nasdaq Bell in New York City, and meetings with the Mayor of Chicago, Governor of Illinois, Cook County President, and leaders from the United Nations Foundation.

“272 organizations nominated for this year’s awards,” said Luke Tanen, Executive Director of the Chicago Innovation Awards. “As a group, these nominees are responsible for generating over $5.6 billion in new revenues, 7,322 new jobs, and 1,683 patents from their nominated new products and services. The winners represent the best from this very impressive group.”

The complete list of this year’s Chicago Innovation Award winners can be found at www.chicagoinnovation.com.

The Chicago Innovation Awards are supported by Founding Diamond Sponsor Theron Technology Solutions; Diamond Sponsors Wintrust, Accenture, and SMS Assist, Gold Sponsors Comcast Business and Exelon, and others.

To explore the Chicago Health Atlas and access the latest data, visit www.ChicagoHealthAtlas.org. For more information about City Tech Collaborative, visit www.CityTech.org or contact City Tech at Collaborate@CityTech.org. For more information about the Chicago Innovation Awards, please contact Luke Tanen at luke@chicagoinnovation.com or by phone at 312-988-1516.

Click here to download the press release.

About City Tech Collaborative (City Tech): City Tech is an urban solutions accelerator that tackles problems too big for any single sector or organization to solve alone. City Tech’s work uses IoT sensing networks, advanced analytics, and urban design to create scalable, market ready solutions. Current initiatives address advanced mobility, healthy cities, connected infrastructure, and emerging growth opportunities. City Tech was born and raised in Chicago, and every city is a potential partner. Visit www.CityTech.org and follow us on Twitterand LinkedIn.

About the Chicago Health Atlas: The Chicago Health Atlas is a community health data resource that residents, community organizations, and public health stakeholders can easily search, analyze, and download neighborhood-level health data for the City of Chicago. A City Tech solution, the Chicago Health Atlas was initially developed in 2012 by the Smart Chicago Collaborative and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) with funding from the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute. Explore the Chicago Health Atlas by visiting www.ChicagoHealthAtlas.org.