Government Future Tech Challenge 2021
Making Innovation Real, Ireland’s Public Service Innovation Strategy, requires that the Public Service seek to connect and collaborate across the entire ecosystem to encourage greater scaling of innovation. Additionally, as part of the GovTech agenda, Department of Public Expenditure (DPER) and Reform is keen to engage with industry to understand better how technology can solve problems faced by public service bodies.
The Future Tech Challenge (FTC) is a pilot competition based on a collaboration between Ireland’s Public Service and competition sponsors to drive innovation and technology adoption in order to solve pressing public service challenges. It is being coordinated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in partnership with IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.
This first pilot challenge will involve focusing engagements with three multinational companies, which will be AWS, Cisco, and IBM. A further iteration will be launched in Spring 2022 which will focus on collaborations with Small and Medium Enterprises.
The maximum level of prize (comprising of services, products or materials from the participating sponsors) awarded to an individual proposal is to the value of no more than €100,000.
Applicants should select one of the following prize areas that they wish their project to be considered for:
- AWS – Cloud Technology, encompassing the full range of AWS cloud services such as compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, internet of things, mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality, media, and application development, deployment and management) link to offerings
- CISCO – Remote Connectivity, Wireless, Sensor Technology, Internet of Things, Cybersecurity, Hardware and Collaboration Solutions – link to offerings
- IBM – Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Machine Learning, Data Governance and Integration – link to offerings
All applications will go through a first stage evaluation, from which three projects will be selected for each of the three categories listed above. These nine projects will go through a number of weeks mentorship provided by technologists. This will culminate in a pitch event towards the end of Q3/beginning of Q4 of 2021, where the nine projects will pitch to an expert panel and a winner of each category will be selected to receive the prize on offer.
We intend to hold a webinar in early July to explain the process fully in conjunction with the competition sponsors who will elaborate further on the prizes their companies offer.
For more information and to make your application, please visit our website here.