Economic Development
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unique Identification Authority of India | Aadhaar |
Aadhaar allows residents to prove identity through biometrics; this technology innovation is targeted first at the 400 million people who can't prove their identity, thereby allowing them to participate in transactions and programs that require ID Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Engro Foods Ltd. | Engro Milk Automation Network (EMAN) | EMAN's use of 1,400-plus point-of-sale machines tied to back-office systems automates dairy farmers' milk sales, creating more transparency into transactions; system is expanding to bring other services, such as banking and automated bill pay, to rural areas throughout Pakistan | Finalist |
| Solar Sister | Solar Sister Program | Organization's use of mobile phones, Google Docs, Salesforce, cloud computing and other IT infrastructure enables it to manage inventory, direct sales and workers selling its innovative solar-powered devices to Africans with no other access to electricity | Finalist |
| Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH | African Cashew Initiative (ACi) | Smartphones and enterprise resource planning applications allow farmer cooperatives in five African countries to more effectively govern their cooperatives, manage business processes, gain insight into financials, and handle analytics and product certifications | Finalist |
| PlanNet Finance Group -- StarShea Ltd. | Empowering Rural Women and Providing Sustainable Access to Market | Smartphones, business software and microfinance give rural Ghana women in the shea nut harvesting and shea butter business access to technical and business training, pricing data and production improvements | Finalist |
| City of Boston | Boston Public Computing Centers/ Boston Sustainable Broadband Adoption | Operation of 53 public computing centers rooted in neighborhoods focuses on delivering targeted training to low-income families with children, unemployed individuals lacking digital skills, and seniors in public housing | |
| Clackamas County | CBX: Clackamas Broadband Express -- Information at the Speed of Light | Clackamas Broadband Express, a 180-mile countywide fiber ring, is a fiber-optic middle-mile network that links the county's rural areas with non-rural areas, providing improved communications for public agencies, local communities, schools and healthcare facilities | |
| Ekuber Ventures Inc. | GSA Office of CIO Salesforce | Federal deployment of cloudbased Salesforce platform reduces the time it takes staff to deliver services, cuts capital costs, improves utilization of resources and heightens mission performance; it also enhances communications and collaboration abilities | |
| Genesys Works | Workforce Development for Economically Disadvantaged Young People | Nonprofit organization prepares disadvantaged high school seniors for college business careers by focusing on the IT training needed to enter and succeed in corporate IT departments | |
| Globant | TesteAR | IT job placement program focuses on training and preparing youths from vulnerable groups to enter the labor market in the software industry, resulting in expanded professional opportunities for participants | |
| Government of the District of Columbia -- DC-NET | Community Access Network (CAN) | CAN, a 100 Gbps open-access network, brings fiber-based broadband to community anchors and outdoor access points, providing free public Internet access with a focus on anchors in underserved areas of the city | |
| Horizon Telcom | Connecting Appalachia Ohio Middle Mile Consortium | This nearly $100 million effort to build a fiber-optic broadband network for 34 Appalachian counties in Ohio includes agreements with last-mile providers to bring broadband into 10,000 unserved square miles, thereby supporting more economic and educational opportunities | |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. | HP LIFE e-Learning | E-learning curriculum allows entrepreneurs around the globe to take courses in IT and business skills at their own convenience as well as participate in discussion boards, online forums and webinars wherever and whenever they have Internet access | |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. | HP Net-Zero Energy Data Center | Integration of energy and cooling supply from local renewable sources, combined with a novel demand management approach that schedules workloads based on resource availability and performance requirements, extends to more people the potential to operate data centers while lowering costs and environmental impact | |
| IndiSoft/Hope LoanPort | RxOffice Platform Powers Hope LoanPort Platform for Housing Counselors | Homeowner Connect provides secure platform for financially struggling homeowners to connect with and submit documentation to housing counselors and mortgage companies to engage in alternatives to home foreclosures | |
| King County Department of Information Technology | Thin Client Kiosks | Replacing aging PCs with thin-client technology in facilities used by job seekers creates more flexible and reliable IT environment at lower costs and with reduced energy requirements, saving more than $45,000 annually in equipment and support costs | |
| Liebherr Mining Equipment Newport News Co. | Liebherr Mining Training System | E-learning strategy built on Saba's Learning Management System allows company to effectively train new and existing workers in economically depressed and remote areas around the world, including Chile, Ghana and Indonesia | |
| National Community Stabilization Trust | REOMatch | Web application connects local housing providers implementing neighborhood stabilization programs to lists of foreclosed properties within specific geographic target areas; providers can also start purchase process and manage entire transaction through the application | |
| NComputing | Education Beyond Borders with NComputing | Adoption of desktop virtualization is a low-cost, low-maintenance and low-impact solution that allows schools, including those in economically depressed areas, to give all students access to computers and thereby equip the next generation with modern computing skill | |
| Nepal Clearing House Ltd. | Electronic Cheque Clearing Implementation | Initiative to expand modern banking services in Nepal deploys advanced technologies to create the infrastructure needed to operate a national payment system, which reduces operational costs and risks while expanding services to people and supporting economic growth | |
| Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) | NoaNet Washington Rural Access Project (WRAP) | Nonprofit broadband provider brings broadband access to 170 rural communities and 2,000 schools, hospitals, emergency responders, libraries and universities in Washington, resulting in a hundredfold increase in infrastructure backbone to serve those communities | |
| Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry | Pennsylvania JobGateway | New portal uses leading technologies to bridge the gap between job seekers and employers by offering simple and improved access to re-employment services and new tools while maintaining seamless integration with existing career services | |
| Savi Technology | Economic and Humanitarian Benefits of Cargo Tracking in Ghana | Tracking software delivers a sustainable solution that gives realtime visibility for all cargo journeys, which cuts losses from theft and increases customs revenue; public organizations in Kenya and Tanzania are adopting this technology following its success in Ghana | |
| United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | Labor Market Information System | System collects, integrates and analyzes labor market data and patterns to give various stakeholders the crucial timely data needed to formulate and implement labor and employment policies | |
| Verizon Wireless | LTE in Rural America | Collaboration between Verizon Wireless and rural telecom companies to build and operate 4G LTE networks in low-density markets throughout the U.S. brings high-speed mobile broadband to underserved areas, enabling individual and community economic growth | |
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