These organizations are using technology to solve some of society's most pressing and complex issues.
All Laureates were selected after a rigorous application and review process. A panel of judges, made up of IT executives and Computerworld editors, chose the five finalists in each category, and from those, one 21st Century Achievement Award winner in each group.
Each Laureate case study is briefly profiled below, and the projects of the 21st Century Achievement Award winners are described in more detail, based on their case studies. Laureates’ case studies become part of the Honors Program’s Global Archives, available to researchers, students and scholars through the Computerworld Honors website and through records housed in national archives in over 350 universities, museums and research institutions throughout the world.
Also, read how some of the 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureates are using big data to battle the effects of unemployment and climate change, and help at-risk students succeed.
Categories:
Collaboration Emerging Technology Human Services Mobile Access Safety & SecuritySustainability
World GoodCollaboration
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literacy Bridge | The Talking Book | Robust, low-cost mobile device delivers on-demand audio lessons to impoverished people in remote communities; powered by disposable/rechargeable batteries, the device allows users to play, record and copy lessons aimed at improving their health and economic opportunities Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| U.S. Pacific Command | All Partners Access Network (APAN) | Global online information-sharing platform enables various functions including international military exercises, interagency work groups and scientific research; APAN’s social media tools allow the Defense Department to securely collaborate with nontraditional partners, such as non-governmental organizations and academia | Finalist |
| U.S. Department of State | Office of eDiplomacy | Collaboration and knowledge management platforms foster greater cooperation and collaboration across organizational and geographic boundaries within the State Department as well as with other stakeholders, such as policymakers, aid workers and civil society organizations | Finalist |
| Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard | Global Health Delivery Online (GHDonline.org) | GHDonline.org enables virtual communities to share information, identify new research questions and test new tools across organizations, industries and geographies; more than 8,500 professionals from 173 countries have joined so far | Finalist |
| Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology | Colorado Information Marketplace (CIM) | CIM provides a secure, standard and reusable platform for data sharing for government and public entities by applying customer integration techniques developed in private industry to overlapping databases maintained by the state of Colorado | Finalist |
| 3M | Use of Social Technologies to Enhance Customer Experience | Social technologies including intelligent chat and user behavioral analysis allow 3M customers and employees greater voice in the product development cycle, resulting in lower rates of product failure, faster ideation and more successful launch of products and services | |
| 4-VA | 4-VA: Transformation Through Collaboration | Leaders of four Virginia universities establish consortium that uses technologies such as immersive video to reduce the cost of delivering instruction, expand access to education, increase research competitiveness, and enhance students’ success rate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics | |
| Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) | Universal Provider Datasource (UPD) | Database allows healthcare providers to submit data required by multiple plans to one source instead of multiple locations, saving 4.6 million hours of administrative work and $142 million annually for more than 1 million providers and 680 participating organizations | |
| Cyber Defence Challenge | Cyber Defence Challenge | MindSet, the Manitoba Network for Science & Technology, and the Canadian Information Processing Society Manitoba implement an educational program combining classroom learning, hands-on training and competitions to develop students’ understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals | |
| Defense Information System Agency, Modeling and Simulation Division, Enterprise Analysis Branch (EE44) | Joint Communication Simulation System (JCSS) | By providing a common simulation environment in which models can be shared and applied as needed, JCSS enables unprecedented collaboration among disparate Department of Defense modeling and simulation working groups, resulting in improved efficiencies and effectiveness in the acquisition process | |
| Explorys | Explorys Enterprise Performance Management (EPM): Enabling Healthcare Providers to Explore Clinical Data in Real Time | A secure, cloud-based computing platform that integrates clinical, financial and operational data, EPM quickly processes, organizes and curates large batches of incoming data, answering complex questions in real time to improve healthcare and lower costs | |
| George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Network (NEES) | NEES hub | Internet-accessible system stores and utilizes research data and computation tools, allowing groundbreaking research to be shared among researchers, students, practitioners and the public; relying heavily on server-level virtualization, NEES hub also provides seamless access to multiple high-performance computing venues | |
| Huddle | Huddle Foundation | Donated and discounted access to Huddle’s cloud-based collaboration platform helps hundreds of nonprofit organizations worldwide improve organizational efficiency, more easily connect workers and volunteers, and more effectively share information across networks | |
| ICT4TD Learning Centre | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Sisi kwa Sisi (Us for Us) | Program initiated by the Africa Upendo Group and the ICT4TD Learning Centre connects community organizations in Tanzania with youth from around the world who, working as interns, utilize the Internet to build their skills and help organizations reach their goals | |
| Itasca Area Schools Collaborative | Itasca Area Schools Collaborative: Using Technology to Expand Student Opportunities | Consortium of seven Minnesota school districts and one community college deploy robust technology infrastructure, standardized IT systems and digital teaching tools to ensure rural students can collaborate with and learn alongside urban students | |
| Massachusetts General Hospital and LiveData Inc. | Perioperative Workflow Redesign | Project integrates data streams from operating room physiological monitors, anesthesia records, procedure process records, hospital information systems and electronic medical record systems, creating a single, patient-centric view that care teams can see in real time | |
| Office of Management and Budget | MAX Federal Community | Suite of cloud-based technology services supports collaboration, knowledge management, document creation, data collection, business analytics and other functions, enabling more than 76,000 users at more than 100 government agencies to work more effectively and efficiently | |
| Pennsylvania Justice Network | JNET Federated Background Check | Application within the JNET integrated portal enables single unified search, allowing users to conduct comprehensive investigations using numerous data sources owned by various commonwealth agencies; saves resources and cuts errors by reducing redundant searches | |
| Plum Organics | Providing Healthier and Tastier Food to Babies, Toddlers and Children | Deployment of a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system that runs the company’s entire business enables Plum Organics to automate most processes, giving employees more time to collaborate, engage clients and focus on corporate mission | |
| San Jose Water Company | Project CCB | Integration of company’s customer and field operations information gives workers real-time insight into customer service and operation schedules, improving decision-making, productivity, responsiveness and customer satisfaction | |
| Schools of Isolated and Distance Education Western Australia | E-Learning and Virtual Classroom Across Australia’s Largest State | Development of an advanced e-learning program provides a realtime virtual learning environment, including high-quality video, virtual breakout rooms and interactive examinations; delivers interactive lessons to serve the diverse needs of 3,000 children who live in a sparsely populated regio | |
| Technology For All | Texas Connects Coalition Project | Project brings technology and hands-on computer training to low-income and underserved communities, helping participants of various ages and backgrounds participate in the 21st century economy and improve their educational and work opportunities | |
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | EPA GeoPlatform | Infrastructure allows EPA staff to collaborate around maps and placebased information by supporting workers’ ability to conduct relevant geospatial analysis in their own areas of interest using common data, tools and methods | |
Next: Economic Development
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 | |
Previous: Collaboration | | Next: Emerging Technology
Emerging Technology
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Bank of Africa | M-Shwari Project | Bank partners with local telecommunications provider Safarico to create fully integrated mobile-centric banking solution to bring banking services to millions of people who previously had no or limited access to banks Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Miami Children’s Hospital | Telehealth Project | Integration of the hospital’s electronic medical record, the MCH Global Telemedicine Command Center, smart mobile health applications and interactive mobile equipment dramatically expands MCH’s service footprint and ability to deliver specialized care to medically underserved communities | Finalist |
| Cisco Systems | Connected Grid Field Area Network | Ruggedized field area network connects 2 million smart meters in British Columbia Hydro service area, enabling data collection, data management, theft detection and integration with utility applications to support, measure, manage and analyze energy use | Finalist |
| Marist College | Open Academic Analytics Initiative (OAA I) | Business intelligence technologies and predictive analytics form the basis for an open-source academic early alert system that allows instructors to identify at the start of courses which students are at risk of not completing the class, enabling them to intervene early | Finalist |
| Persistent Systems Ltd. | Big Data/Social Media/Viewer Response Analytics for “SMJ,” a Revolutionary New Indian TV Show Dedicated to Resolving Social Issues | Comprehensive analytics platform for filmmaker Aamir Khan’s interactive socio-cultural TV show in India enables real-time analysis of millions of comments and stories submitted via social media to create digital feedback loop from viewers to viewers as well as to the show’s team | Finalist |
| 10gen | Education Technology Initiatives Powered by MongoDB | 10gen’s MongoDB database powers InBloom, a nonprofit tech company that makes data integration and content search easier for educators so they can quickly and securely get comprehensive history for each student to improve outcomes and personalize instruction | |
| Bexar County | My Bexar Community Dashboard | Platform consolidates local, regional and national information into an easy-to-use interactive dashboard that allows users to access community information previously spread over multiple websites | |
| BISON | Alternative Investment Network | Vertical network for pensions, endowments and foundations (PEF) to learn about best alternative investment managers actively raising capital brings technology innovation, efficiencies and transparency to the market while enabling PEFs to make more informed investment decisions | |
| Computer Sciences Corp. | ClimatEdge | Risk management suite applies big data analytics to historical data from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other public sources, providing new insights to commercial and public interests to help them minimize risk and make better-informed decisions | |
| Cook Children’s Healthcare Network | Medical Grade Wireless Utility | Overhaul of existing wireless network creates converged, future-ready, hospital-owned asset consisting of multiple wireless services on a single infrastructure; provides improved reliability and capacity while increasing timeliness and quality of staff communications Nominated by West Health Institute | |
| Directorate of Information Technology (DIT), Government of Maharashtra, India | Maharashtra Cloud | Initiative to provide cloud services to Maharashtra government departments yields multiple benefits, including reduced costs, reduced time to provision servers, reduction in downtime due to maintenance, quicker restoration of servers and faster rollout of new servers | |
| Fisker Automotive | Designing Eco-Friendly and Exciting Automobiles | Deployment of SAP platform that supports company’s entire value chain leverages best practices for business processes to deliver operational efficiencies and enable effective decision-making capabilities, allowing more time to focus on company’s mission | |
| Gravitant | Improving Public Sector Agency Responsiveness to Unexpected Demand | Cloud brokerage and management platform powered by Gravitant seamlessly provisions IT resources from multiple cloud sources in real time to meet variability in demand from several Texas state agencies | |
| HBF | HBF Embraces Virtualized Storage Infrastructure | Consolidation of storage assets in an environment that’s 50% virtualized combined with management software allows for optimal infrastructure growth, and provides the flexibility and scalability needed to efficiently store, access and move HBF’s current and growing data | |
| J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) | Analyzing an Ocean of Data | Deployment of columnar database technology designed for highvolume analytics delivers the right combination of scalability to accommodate data size, speed and affordability, which allows JCVI to analyze more data, leading to new discoveries | |
| MemSQL | MemSQL Distributed | By elevating data into memory, developers for a real-time bond data application are able to balance highvelocity data streaming and a high number of concurrent queries while still using a relational database with MemSQL, a strategy that saves time and reduces total cost of ownership | |
| Mercy | Open Source Web Content and Document Management for Mercy | Integrated platform allows Mercy healthcare system to consolidate more than 45,000 policies and procedures into one powerful, centralized portal with a standard layout that makes finding important information easier and enables collaboration | |
| Morgridge Institute for Research | Gene Expression Analysis for Stem Cell Differentiation Using Utility Supercomputing | High-performance utility supercomputing provides an affordable research tool for scientists, dramatically condensing compute times to enable breakthroughs such as the creation of an indexing system for stem cells that could expedite research | |
| Nexthink | Infrastructure Monitoring for the Paris Fire Brigade | Real-time monitoring, analysis and visualization of the performance of IT infrastructure means problems are immediately detected and resolved before users are negatively impacted, while also simplifying daily IT work and reinforcing IT’s control over the infrastructure | |
| Ohio Academic Resources Network | OAR net 100 Gbps Network Expansion | OARnet, which serves the networking and technology needs of Ohio universities, K-12 schools, public broadcasting, government departments and hospitals, upgrades from 10 Gbps to 100 Gbps to create the high-performance environments needed for next-generation business applications | |
| Oregon Secretary of State | One Stop Business Portal New Business | Xpress website features top tasks that business owners must complete when interacting with state government, allowing businesses to use a single portal to access the information they need | |
| Search Engine Inc. | The Street Development Project | Initiative brings together private business, public entities and residents to improve the ability to navigate through Ghana by enhancing street-level navigational aids, such as signs and house numbers, as well as creating centralized digital navigation data | |
| Temperature@lert | Temperature@lert Solar Cellular Edition | A combination of solar power, cellular communication technology and smart sensors provides 24/7 monitoring of crops; the combination of technology along with alerts sent via emails, text messages and/or telephone calls enables better crop management and lowers water and fuel use | |
| United Nations Global Pulse | Big Data and Unemployment Through the Lens of Social Media | Analysis of social media chatter and sentiment helps identify trends related to unemployment increases and helps inform policymakers so they can react more quickly to mitigate the negative effects of increased unemployment | |
| University of Kentucky | Big Data Analytics to Increase Student Graduation Rates | Big data analytic tool lets users quickly create and execute queries that can help improve student performance and graduation rates by identifying students in need of help or intervention | |
Previous: Economic Development | | Next: Health
Health
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grameen Foundation | Mobile Technology for Community Health (MOTECH) | Ghana-based initiative works to develop protocols for using mobile phones and interrelated mobile applications to increase the quantity and quality of prenatal and neonatal care in rural Ghana Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Microsoft Research | Uncovering New Ways the Human Immune System Fights HIV | Thousands of computers analyze vast amounts of HIV research data; combined Microsoft Research hardware and software can complete in hours analysis that would take years to do using a single computer, speeding the fight against HIV | Finalist |
| Colleagues In Care Global Health Network | Colleagues In Care | Network connects volunteer medical professionals with healthcare providers primarily in Haiti to enable them to share information and create quality, evidence-based standards of care adapted to the realities in Haiti and other poor regions | Finalist |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. | eHealth Center (eHC) — Rapidly Deployable and Fully Integrated Cloud-Enabled Health Center | Program creates easily deployable healthcare services to serve rural and remote areas in India and around the world; transportable container converted into health center is equipped with power generators and built-in connectivity to power diagnostic equipment and a videoconferencing solution | Finalist |
| GlobalMed | Transportable Exam Station | Mobile health delivery system enables clinicians to use audio, video and integrated software from remote locations while communicating with the Veterans Health Administration’s electronic health system, allowing access to the best care while minimizing required travel | Finalist |
| BioGrid Australia | National Bowel Cancer Screening Program | Web-based federated platform that identifies and integrates data collected at multiple institutions for research enables the analysis of bowel cancer patients, showing that early diagnosis significantly improves survival and reduces treatment costs | |
| Carestream Health | Carestream MyVue Patient Portal | Portal allows patients to securely access their MRIs, PET scans and other medical images from tablets or computers, giving them the ability to share images with other healthcare providers without the time and cost of physically copying images | |
| Certify Data Systems | Certify’s HealthLogix Platform, Enhanced with Holistic Clinical- View Functionality, Enables Collaborative Patient Care Health Information | Exchange platform enables aggregated view of patients’ total healthcare encounters across provider communities, regardless of differences in electronic health record systems, eliminating reviews of multiple pages of information and enabling more coordinated care | |
| Christiana Care Health System | eSignout: The Clinician Hand-Off Tool | Software captures patient information, care plans and progress notes in consistent, detailed and useful formats, providing continuity of care when clinicians pass patients onto other clinicians for care; reduces errors due to miscommunication | |
| Cisco Systems | LifeConnections | Onsite medical services leverage Cisco’s technologies for collaboration, data management, video, mobility, ubiquitous connectivity and security; provides employees and their families a medical experience that focuses on healthcare, not administrative details, and that ties all services together | |
| CURE International | Hydro DB | Initiative supports operational oversight of worldwide network of surgeons treating and researching hydrocephalus; uses Google platforms to address variable Internet access in developing world and WordPress as a secure platform to store and track patient data | |
| Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board Inc. | Redefining Health Care Through Network Modernization | Medical center upgrades IT infrastructure to include wireless, VoIP, video capabilities and higher encryption standards to support the next generation of services, including telemedicine and online access to electronic health records | |
| HCA Information Technology and Services | Clinical Quality Improvement Research Database: Reduce MRSA | Built to house data from trials studying strategies to prevent bacterial infection, this database makes clinical, financial, supply and admission/discharge information available for analysis and continues to serve as a premier repository for clinical research | |
| Independent Living Systems | eCare Central | System uses medical claim, pharmacy and lab data to classify individuals according to health risks, giving individuals with high composite risk scores priority for direct outreach; system also uses survey data to help generate recommended care plans for individuals | |
| MarkLogic | IQ Solutions/SAMHSA Public Engagement Platform (PEP) | MarkLogic and IQ Solutions build new XML content repository for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration so that all data can be stored, searched for and shared, allowing SAMHSA to efficiently use and distribute content | |
| Medical University of South Carolina | Palmetto State Providers Network | Broadband network carries telehealth, telemedicine, simulated caregiver training, remote ICU monitoring, psychiatric consults, medical education and other needed information to rural healthcare providers at lower costs and with more reliability than previously possible | |
| Mellanox Technologies | Department of Veterans Affairs 40 Gbps InfiniBand | Department of Veterans Affairs reduces latency and increases performance of storage subsystem in its data center through Mellanox 40 Gbps InfiniBand solution and Microsoft SMB (Server Message Block), making data more accessible and available for analysis across different applications | |
| Miami Children’s Hospital | Miami Children’s Hospital Telehealth Platform | Telehealth infrastructure helps doctors access crucial patient and medical information more quickly wherever they are, diagnose and prescribe treatment for remote patients, as well as consult and share best practices remotely with fellow practitioners | |
| Moffitt Cancer Center | Telemedicine/Telepresence Technologies Ease the Patients’ Experience and Increase Physician Productivity | Expansion of videoconferencing services into telemedicine applications that include interpreting services and remote patient consults and exams provides increased level of care to patients; platform saves time and money, reduces patient stress and increases patient compliance with medical instructions | |
| National Government Services Inc. | World Trade Center (WTC) Act | Project provides comprehensive portfolio of innovative financial services in accordance with James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (WTC Act), helping to ensure continuous service levels for those medically impacted by 9/11 | |
| NuVasive Inc. | Streamlining Spinal Surgery Field Administration | With deployment of mobile solution built on SAP Mobile Platform with security by SAP Afaria, company streamlines order process and reduces errors, speeding the timeline for healthcare customers to receive surgical products needed for patients with spinal maladies | |
| PPD | PPD PatientView | Portal connects patients enrolled in clinical trials to their health information and offers tools to schedule appointments, fill prescriptions and stay connected with professionals running and monitoring their trials; as a result, portal helps retain trial participants | |
| Practice Fusion | Practice Fusion Electronic Health Record | Free, Web-based EHR system is used by more than 150,000 professionals in mostly small primary care practices serving 52 million patients; this ad-supported model provides medical charting, e-prescribing, lab integrations and other services to support efficient care delivery | |
| Ptolemy Data Systems (PDS) | Telemedicine in Wyoming | PDS-led effort deploys telemedicine throughout Wyoming by building out fiber-optic lines, investing in videoconferencing platform, and ensuring public and private healthcare providers’ systems are interoperable; efforts help eliminate distance barriers and improve access to medical services | |
| SoloHealth | Interactive Health and Wellness Kiosks | SoloHealth Station, a self-service cloud-based platform, offers vision, blood pressure, weight and body mass index screening, as well as overall health assessments and access to a database of local doctors, all free of charge | |
| University of Tennessee Health Science Center Office of Biomedical Informatics | Scientific Laboratory Information Management and Patient- Care Research Information Management (Slim-Prim) | Secure Web application enables researchers to securely gather, manage, maintain, report and share data; its user-driven development allows researchers to design and administer complex relational databases for their studies with little or no technical training | |
| UpToDate & Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University (GHDonline) | UpToDate & Global Health Initiative | To support clinicians practicing in settings with limited resources, initiative provides donated subscriptions to peer-reviewed UpToDate content, ongoing development of clinical content specific to the needs of clinicians in these settings, continuing medical education and a community in which to share expertise and access resources | |
Previous: Emerging Technology | | Next: Human Services
Human Services
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Plates | Community Plates’ “Go Rescue” Technology Powered by WhenToManage | Nonprofit organization that distributes surplus food from grocers and restaurants to agencies serving hungry individuals uses Web-based mobile Go Rescue App to enable self-serve volunteer management system, reducing overhead costs and speeding food deliveries Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Sahana Software Foundation | Sahana Software Foundation Projects | Sahana develops free and open-source software and provides services for disaster response coordination between governments, aid organizations, civil society and survivors, enabling those affected to better prepare for and respond to disasters | Finalist |
| Watsi | Watsi Launch | Crowd-funding website connects donors willing to fund medical care for patients in poor regions and medical partners willing to offer critical health services to such patients around the world Nominated by BestIT | Finalist |
| Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare | Medical Assistance Provider Incentive Repository | A 13-state collaborative deploys a Web-based application that integrates with existing state systems to allow eligible Medicaid providers to complete applications for federal HITECH Act incentive payments and receive payments through existing financial systems | Finalist |
| Secretaria de Educacion de Medellin, Colombia | Digital Transformation of Education | Program uses desktop virtualization software to deliver cost-effective educational applications across 40,000 student and teacher desktops in 441 schools, helping to improve students’ IT skills as well as build skills students need to better engage in their communities | Finalist |
| Airbnb | Airbnb Response to Hurricane Sandy | Airbnb website connects people displaced by Hurricane Sandy with hosts able to provide free housing, allowing hosts to list their places online for free; more than 1,400 listings appeared on the company’s Sandy list | |
| Allegheny County Department of Human Services (ACDHS) | Data Systems to Support an Integrated Human Services Model Across Allegheny County | Deployment of new technologies lead to streamlined business processes, improved collaboration among ACDHS and other government agencies, and reduced costs, ultimately improving service delivery for Allegheny County citizens | |
| American Student Assistance | SALT | Nonprofit organization responds to escalating student debt with membership program featuring multichannel integrated services combining online educational tools and mobile applications with outreach and counseling; empowers individuals to manage and repay loans and build financial competencies | |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada | Project Phoenix | New customer relationship management system streamlines workflow and builds better connections among agencies, freeing staff from administrative tasks so they can focus on finding the right match for thousands of youths waiting for mentors | |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Group: Informatics Research & Development Activity (IRDA), Public Health Surveillance & Informatics Program Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (OSELS) | Public Health Informatics Research Cloud | Secure private cloud creates safe environment for IRDA researchers to test different technologies and approaches, enabling agility and rapid deployment of new technologies that support CDC’s core missions | |
| ChildFund International | Office in a Box | WAN optimization gives employees and volunteers near-instant access to critical applications, speeds communication, enables easy setup of operations at new locations, and gives agency flexibility and scalability for future applications and services | |
| CredAbility | Interactive Case Management (iCM) | New workforce management, call recording and performance management software, along with new customer relationship management system, promotes effective communications and highquality interactions with clients as well as more efficiency to reduce operational costs | |
| Employment Development Department (EDD) | State of California Disability Insurance Automation (DIA) | One of the most complex technology transformations undertaken by EDD, new State Disability Insurance Online System (SDI Online) automates the nation’s largest state disability insurance program, improving claims processing and fraud detection while reducing costs | |
| Feeding America | Feeding More People by Leveraging Mobile Technology to Improve Distribution Efficiency Deployment of SAP/Syclo Mobile | Platform enables drivers transporting food to electronically capture data on mobile devices and send the information into the back-end system, reducing the time and effort involved in moving food to people | |
| Ford Motor Co. | Sustainable Urban Mobility with Uncompromised Rural Reach (SUMURR) | Project explores ways to use IT-equipped vehicles to improve services in four critical areas of need in rural communities: healthcare, delivery of potable water, primary education and renewable energy | |
| HCA IT&S Information Technology | Sarah Cannon Cancer Navigation | Specialized healthcare professionals called patient navigators guide cancer patients through treatments; HCA IT&S’s Cancer Navigation application consolidates medical data associated with patients’ care into one system to aid their work and encourage use of best practices | |
| International Rescue Committee (IRC) | International Rescue Committee | Hybrid solution combines traditional colocation features alongside managed services, giving IRC flexibility to build out its infrastructure on the fly and roll out new applications to field workers; creates foundation to bring modern communications technologies to less developed regions | |
| Interservicios Limitada | SIGMA-V | Software enables institutions to characterize and register aid provided to victims of armed conflict in Colombia, giving the institutions the ability to target services and measure the impact of aid so they can best focus their resources | |
| Maricopa County MCESA and OET | MCESA IVL and Electronic Assessments | Interactive video learning for students as well as teachers combined with electronic assessments make up the three parts of this project, which aims to use technology to increase student academic progress, achievement and success | |
| Microsoft Research | Adjusting Pneumonia Vaccination Periods to Save Lives | Modified version of software developed to support cancer research now helps track data and associated details as Oxford Vaccine Group’s HimalayaHelp program tries to determine if changing childhood pneumonia vaccination schedules can protect children longer and save lives | |
| MITRE Center for Veterans Enterprise Transformation | Eliminate Veteran Homelessness (EVH) | EVH is a new computational model that leverages an internal high-performance computing cluster to reduce runtime to minutes, allowing a new level of insight into managing the Veterans Administration’s interdependent programs | |
| OneCommunity | Connect Your Community | Program focusing on teaching digital literacy skills to low-income populations uses national and local partnerships, curriculum and technologies tailored to local and individual needs along with other innovations to train more than 33,000 individuals to date | |
| Parsons | Emergency Response to the Impact of Hurricane Sandy to NYCDEP’s Facilities | Construction management services incorporate IT solutions, including phone cameras and a Web portal, to provide real-time communication and mobilization, helping the New York City Department of Environmental Protection quickly restore services after Hurricane Sandy submerged wastewater treatment plants | |
| Secure Telehealth | Sustainable Telemedicine for Mentally Ill in Rural Idaho | Videoconferencing technology for ordinary PCs that uses innovative software, high-definition webcams and specialized microphones provides interaction similar to more expensive specialized equipment, enabling the rural health agency to provide mental health telemedicine services at affordable costs | |
| Sense Corp. | Wyman TOPnet Online | To build and expand its Teen Outreach Program (TOP), Wyman turns to Sense Corp. for a Web-based application that automates a survey feedback process, sets up an online collaborative environment and further advances partner organizations’ ability to evaluate the program’s impact | |
| The Smith Family | Learning for Life | Upgraded customer relationship management system streamlines organization’s administrative activities, allowing staff more time to work on programming and ultimately provide more disadvantaged children with more consistent support | |
| Thresholds | Thresholds’ Mobile Technology Initiative | SafeBook laptops, Air Cards and Verizon Wireless subscriptions improve services for homeless mentally ill individuals by providing caseworkers with secure access to the agency’s applications, giving the workers more time and resources to focus on clients | |
| U.S. Census Bureau | Census Bureau Open Data API | Application programming interface gives developers inside and outside the Census Bureau easy Web access to a single pipeline of census data, with full flexibility and control over which data variables to request and receive without the need to create copies | |
| Youth Policy Institute | YPI Educational Technology (Ed Tech) | Focused on closing the city’s digital divide, program brings broadband access and training to underserved groups through public computer centers and educational programs; since 2010, YPI Ed Tech has deployed 1,716 computers and provided 484,031 training hours | |
Previous: Health | | Next: Innovation
Innovation
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deque Systems | Amaze | Revolutionary approach makes websites accessible to people with disabilities in real time; with Amaze, an accessibility overlay can be created to fix bugs immediately without having to reprogram source code, resulting in a rapid, cost-effective solution Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. | HP VideoBook | HP solution augments textbooks with videos; algorithm runs series to process text from books or documents and identify and present relevant videos, giving students a dynamic learning experience that improves academic performance | Finalist |
| Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) | Tomorrow’s HealthCare | Web-based quality improvement program based on PRHI’s methodology for healthcare quality improvement and efficiency gives healthcare workers access to the tools, education and online community needed to improve patient care | Finalist |
| Dell SecureWorks | Targeted Threat Intelligence Services | Services portfolio extends security teams’ visibility into threats that are specifically targeting their organizations; addresses the differences in actors behind such threats along with their behaviors to provide organizations with forward, actionable intelligence | Finalist |
| Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co. (MKI) | POC for Accelerating Cancer Research Through Real-Time, Big Data Genome Analysis | MKI creates a single, real-time data platform prototype that shortens genome analysis time from several days to 20 minutes, an improvement that could dramatically improve cancer treatments and other healthcare services | Finalist |
| California Department of Motor Vehicles | DMV Social Media Program | Evolving multipronged social media strategy using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube increases customer engagement and improves customer communication and education opportunities | |
| Cisco Systems | Smart+Connected Communities: Lake Nona | Cisco uses an intelligent network as the core technology platform to transform the city of Lake Nona into a connected community; integrated urban plan will enable information exchange between services, fulfilling the need for increased security, energy conservation, enhanced productivity and a digital lifestyle | |
| City of Boston | Boston Citizens Connect | Initiative strengthens connection between residents and city by providing multiple technology platforms (self-service portal, Twitter, website, online chat and text) on which to interact and communicate service needs to city workers | |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions | Research & Development | Project develops technology to detect different types of diseases at early stages by using image pattern recognition techniques; current project work focuses on disease detection in cotton leaves as well as skin diseases in humans | |
| Computer Sciences Corp. | CarIT | Business focuses on helping auto manufacturers harness new technologies in all phases of auto manufacturing and operations, bringing innovative security and safety features to car design while also saving automakers money and time during product development | |
| DataXu | Data Science and the Art of Marketing | Real-time, multivariate decision system has ability to sense and correct course, based on changing consumer behavior across all touch points; considers creative, context and other variables dynamically, helping bridge the gap between analysis and use of consumer data | |
| Directorate of Information Technology (DIT), Government of Maharashtra, India | Aadhaar | Linked Service Delivery Following the Indian government’s initiative to assign unique identification numbers to every resident, the regional Maharashtra government links bank accounts with UID numbers for public program beneficiaries so grants transfer directly to their bank accounts; this ensures delivery of benefits as well as financial inclusion of everyone | |
| Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program | Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program | Unified, governmentwide risk management framework for IT systems ends costly and inefficient duplication of efforts and increases confidence in security of cloud systems; fosters faster adoption of cloud services and expedites implementation of next-generation technologies | |
| Federal Student Aid | The Integrated Student Experience (ISE) | ISE initiative consolidates multiple sources of information related to financial aid and the college decision-making process into a one-stop shop, creating a better experience for users and increasing financial-aid awareness | |
| Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research | Biomedical Big Data Proof-of-Concept | Open-source technologies (Apache Hadoop, Hive and Mahout) enable analysis of information at a scale, speed and cost that could not have been previously accomplished, helping expedite work done by cancer researchers | |
| HQDA Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7 DAMOFME Enterprise Management Decision Support (EMDS), Pentagon | Enterprise Management Decision Support | System provides actionable information quickly and eliminates hassle of manual data collection and analysis by efficiently and accurately aggregating data from multiple authoritative sources; supports Army readiness | |
| Internet2 (and Its Members) | The Nation’s Fastest, Coast-to- Coast Research and Education Network | New network includes advanced technologies offered as an Innovation Platform to develop a new generation of applications and deliver new, more efficient, better-yielding services for 200,000 community anchor institutions and university business functions | |
| MicroTech | Latino Donor Collaborative | Online collaborative knowledge portal using open-source infrastructure gives the nonprofit Latino Donor Collaborative a tool to support its initiative to expand and advance a more accurate, factbased portrayal of Latinos and their contributions to America | |
| NASA Office of the Chief Information Officer: IT Labs Program | IT Labs Program | Program focuses on improving the innovation process for IT-related ideas at NASA; this centralized program sets policies and procedures that within a two-year span has led to investments in more than 30 potentially feasible projects | |
| Online Computer Library Center Inc. (OCLC) | WorldShare Management Services Global Deployment | Web-based environment streamlines cataloging, acquisitions, license management and circulation workflows, and offers a powerful discovery and delivery tool for members of the nonprofit OCLC; enables libraries to share infrastructure costs and resources as well as collaborate | |
| The Nemours Foundation | Nemours Children’s Hospital | Application development and deployment focuses on the patient and parent experience, with applications such as Patient Care Display and Clinician Profiles pulling information from various systems to provide quick access to information at the point of care | |
| True Office | True Office Compliance Gaming Engine | Cloud-based gaming engine for desktop and mobile delivery covers critical regulatory topics and provides an immersive experience for employees that fosters true learning while providing data for analysis, thereby helping employers better manage and mitigate compliance risk | |
| University of California, Merced | UC Merced Mobile App Challenge | Innovative entrepreneurial competition allows undergraduates to define and solve their own problems; encourages entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity while helping retain students from traditionally underserved populations | |
| UPMC Mercy Hospital | Smartphone Use in Bedside Patient Care | Deployment of multiple smartphone applications that deliver medical orders, alerts and patient information to healthcare personnel in a more timely manner, allowing clinicians to respond rapidly as well as spend more time caring for patients | |
| Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission | Real-Time Mobile Collection of Field Data | Project provides ability to electronically capture and upload field water sampling results and chain-of-custody information at the source, eliminating delays in getting critical information about water samples to staff and customers | |
| World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) | W3C: Leading the Web to Its Full Potential | W3C leads standardization of the latest iteration of Web technology, called “Open Web Platform for application development,” which is a full-fledged Web programming environment, powered in part by HTML5, that transforms static Web pages into dynamic Web applications | |
| Xerox Corp. | Xerox Ignite Educator Support System | One-of-a-kind workflow and software system pushes hand-marked student work (on paper today or on tablets tomorrow) into the digital analytics domain, making it faster for teachers to grade tests and easier to provide individualized instruction | |
Previous: Human Services | | Next: Mobile Access
Mobile Access
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merit Network Inc. | REACH-3MC (Rural, Education, Anchor, Community and Heathcare — Michigan Middle Mile Collaborative) | Constructing 2,287 miles of middlemile fiber-optic infrastructure solves backhaul problem in rural Michigan; led by Merit Network, REACH-3MC engages seven commercial ISPs to create infrastructure to serve homes, businesses and community anchor institutions Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| California Emerging Technology Fund, California 2-1-1/ United Ways of California | CETF Get Connected Grant | New technology platform allows 2-1-1 network to share expanded resource information across 27 counties, enabling 90% of Californians to quickly get assistance from network workers; helps low-income residents find computer training and tools | Finalist |
| Novation | Driving Down Costs by Mobile- Enabling the Healthcare Supply Chain | Suite of price benchmarking and cost management analytic applications in medical, surgical and pharmaceutical areas empowers hospital personnel to make instant decisions; allows them to get key pricing and financial information wherever they are | Finalist |
| Samsung Electronics America | Samsung Smart School Solution Multiplies Success for Geeter Middle School Math Students | Memphis, Tenn., school pilots Samsung SmartSchool Solution package, which includes tablets and an interactive whiteboard; system better engages students in their lessons by making learning more fun and better enables teachers to monitor students’ progress and do real-time coaching. | Finalist |
| Continuum Health Partners Inc. | Improving Patient Outcomes Through Predictive Analytics | Mobile device applications access data in real time to help healthcare providers predict, profile and identify complex patients and patients not classified correctly upon admission, as well as better identify patients’ conditions to produce the best health outcomes | Finalist |
| 2X Software | Voices of September 11th | Software allows Voices of September 11th workers to sign in from any terminal or device and access data, as well as scan and enter images of 9/11 victims from any location | |
| American Cancer Society (ACS) | Mobilizing Cancer Awareness | ACS chooses cloud-based Moovweb platform to power its mobile sites to quickly deliver its mobile presence while staying fully in sync with desktop site content and features, including the ability to accept donations | |
| Arshnet Technologies | G7Security | System pulls cybersecurity-related Web content as well as Cyber Security Alerts from the National Cyber Alert System and delivers the content to mobile users via an app that shows security activity and trends | |
| Canvas | Ante Up — Sabi Sands | Companywide Ante Up program provides the Sabi Sand Game Reserve with free and unlimited access to Canvas mobile apps, enabling conservation officers to more effectively combat animal poaching | |
| Cisco Systems | WebEx Social | Employees turn to the IT Mobility Services Community in Cisco’s enterprise collaboration platform WebEx Social for all of their mobile device needs, including rate plans, setup information and support for all types of devices | |
| City and County of San Francisco | Street Lights Mobile App | Application using Google Maps and GPS technologies allows residents to report streetlight problems and track repair work via mobile phone; provides residents with an easier way to submit problem notifications while giving the city more specific information, helping to speed repairs | |
| City of Columbus — Department of Technology | MyColumbus | Application gives residents, businesses and visitors access to government, public services and community features from mobile phones; uses integrated technologies such as GPS for location services, RSS for city news feeds and a social media center | |
| Hennepin County | Hennepin County Medical Examiner Merger | Office merger prompts drive to create efficiencies through infrastructure redesign that includes mobile computing, which allows physicians to manage and review cases from anywhere at any time so they can more easily stay current with cases | |
| Indiana University | eTexts Initiative | Aiming to reduce the cost of course materials for students, university transitions to digital textbook model for its eight campuses; upgrades wireless LAN infrastructure and develops new technologies to support the initiative | |
| Lehigh Valley Health Network | iPads for Home Health Services | Equipping workers with iPads creates direct connections to agency applications, allowing nurses in the field to work live on a server, which enables better security and time savings by eliminating the need to transfer data | |
| LifeWIRE Corp. | Interactive SMS as an Intervention for Supporting Veterans at High Risk Suicidal | Software uses text messages to maintain contact with veterans at risk of committing suicide; improves clinical outreach, reduces workload and enables rapid response to events before they escalate into crises | |
| Net Power & Light | Global Live Classroom Powered by Spin Live Studio | Spin Live Studio by Net Power & Light turns Harvard University professor’s course into global classroom; requiring no hardware outside of a few iOS devices, Spin Live Studio is simple to pop up and remix in each location | |
| Team Rubicon | Operation Greased Lightning | Veteran Emergency Response Teams aiding Hurricane Sandy victims use iPads and smartphones to take photos of damage and file requests for supplies and repairs, while Team Rubicon analysts in command center track and respond to needs | |
| Technology Works | Public Computer Center | Rabun County sets up two public computer centers that offer 30 workstations, teleconferencing capabilities and free computer classes to improve workforce development, education and healthcare services | |
| The Smithsonian Institution | Audio Tour: “Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey” | Free mobile application functions as both exhibition companion and standalone introduction to Romare Bearden’s work; app uses uniquely creative approach incorporating music and website links to deliver insight to users | |
| Tohono O’odham Community College | iPad Therefore I Am | Introduction of iPads at tribal college serving Tohono O’odham Nation helps increase student retention, attendance and participation in class by providing hands-on learning that students enjoy and by making material more engaging | |
| U.S. Coast Guard | USCG Provides Secure Mobile Access with Good Technology | Good Mobile Connection allows USCG to provide secure mobile access to information behind the firewall, enabling users to communicate efficiently, reliably and securely across the Coast Guard’s large geographic coverage area | |
| Welfare Client Data Systems | CalWIN Benefits Mobile | Applications for Android and Apple smartphones and tablets provide enhanced self-service capabilities to families in need of health and social services assistance, including a streamlined application for disaster assistance | |
Previous: Innovation | | Next: Philanthropy
Philanthropy
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida | Learn Ideas, Navigate Knowledge (LINK) | Program provides digital literacy training, computers and broadband Internet service for low-income students and their families, opening up new opportunities and broadening horizons as it bridges the digital divide Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| CA Technologies | National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) Finds More Children with Successful IT Management | CA Technology solutions ensure NCMEC staff and partners as well as the public have 24/7 access to systems that help identify and protect vulnerable children; solutions give NCMEC the ability to provide faster response to potential issues and improve the quality of IT management | Finalist |
| Tech Impact (formerly NPower Pennsylvania) | npCloud: Nonprofit Cloud Technology Services Suite | Suite of nonprofit cloud technology solutions paired with education and wrap-around implementation and support services brings cloud-based services to nonprofits, enabling greater efficiencies | Finalist |
| DataKind | DataKind | To foster use of data to serve humanity, initiative enlists data scientists from the private sector to volunteer for multidisciplinary teams that help world-changing organizations analyze data to solve problems | Finalist |
| Infor | Infor Partners with Habitat for Humanity to Help Build Affordable Housing | Donations and discounted prices of Infor products allow nonprofit Habitat for Humanity to standardize on Infor solutions, enabling organizationwide visibility into costs as well as in-depth analysis and forecasting to facilitate improved, more informed budgeting decisions | Finalist |
| Allstate Insurance Co. | Allstate Fellows Program | Program grants employees paid leave to allow them to help manage and lead short-term, high-impact projects in areas such as information systems for nonprofit organizations, enabling participants to use their professional skills to strengthen communities | |
| AMD Foundation | AMD Changing the Game | Program seeks to better engage young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by having participants create video games around social issues; program focuses on four areas: game design, game competitions, curriculum and advocacy | |
| Budge Inc. | Budge | Award-winning mobile and social platform allows users to challenge friends to any activity, with the loser making a micro-donation to charity; aims to engage Gen Y users in philanthropy through a seamless and enjoyable interface | |
| ConnectToTech Inc. | ConnectToTech Online | Suite of online complementary technology platforms offers educational resources as well as automated tool for volunteer groups to conduct volunteer-matching, advancing the group’s mission of engaging Long Island, N.Y., students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics | |
| Credit Suisse — Information Technology | Hurricane Sandy Recovery — Habitat for Humanity Setup | After Hurricane Sandy displaces Habitat for Humanity from its Manhattan office, longtime partner Credit Suisse provides relocation space; Credit Suisse IT staffers volunteer time to set up Habitat’s technology, getting it operational after just one night | |
| EKOICT | ICT Training Kits for Hearing Impairment | Project aims to make textbooks on information and communication technologies accessible to hearing-impaired individuals by translating ICT terms into meaningful sign language context and using technologies such as Web-streaming video and a flash-animated application | |
| Institute of Information Science (IZUM) | Institute of Information Science Gives Entire Slovenian Population Access to Public Library System | Institution provides library information service to more than 600 Slovenian libraries, allowing the entire country’s population to have anytime access to the national bibliographic system as well as resources for research, education and culture | |
| (ISC)2 Foundation | Safe and Secure Online Program | Program produces nearly 900 member volunteers who since 2006 have provided instruction to more than 95,000 children in Canada, Hong Kong, the U.K. and the U.S. on how to protect themselves online and become responsible digital citizens | |
| Kellogg Co. | Project Lantern | Building on their partnership with a local branch of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, IT workers undertake project to enhance organization’s Ending the Silence website, resulting in a more visually appealing site with enhanced features | |
| LINGOs (Learning in NGOs) | SCORM Dispatch: Enabling LINGOs Members to Make Independent LMS Decisions and Access LINGOs Catalog | Consortium that shares learning resources and experiences makes donated e-learning courses available to its members through a learning management system (LMS) that creates a seamless interface between this program and member systems to ensure easy access to material | |
| Littelfuse Inc. | Next Generation Development | IT team helps build next generation of technology workers by mentoring and training college students and inner-city youth who want technical careers, volunteering more than 2,000 hours of time to date | |
| McAfee | McAfee Online Safety for Kids Program | Using content and materials provided by the company, employees volunteer to train school-age children in ways to stay safe and secure and maintain good ethics in their online behavior; safety program is free to schools and youth groups | |
| MCNC | Fiber Build to Serve Community Anchor Institutions | A $144 million expansion of the North Carolina Research and Education Network results in a 2,600-mile fiber-optic network touching 82 of the state’s 100 counties; gives state a competitive advantage and allows community anchor institutions to keep up with bandwidth demand | |
| NetSuite | NetSuite.org | Corporate citizenship program with mission to help nonprofits donates company’s cloud-based business management suite and employees’ expert assistance to selected charities to help them run their organizations more effectively and efficiently | |
| New Signature | Opportunities for Youth | Company initiative engages its employees in community programs focused on youth, including Year Up, Alliance for Excellent Education and Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship; company offers financial support as well as volunteer time | |
| Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) | Stepping Up to Algebra — 1:1 Computing Labs | Intensive 75-hour summer program serves nearly 1,000 students and continues with afterschool sessions to improve students’ math proficiency; SVEF achieves 1:1 computing ratio in program with donated Dell thin clients | |
| SMART Technologies | SMART Learning Space Anti-Cyber-Bullying Campaign and SMART Exchange | Training and professional development team develops online program to educate people about cyber-bullying; additionally, SMART Exchange provides online community and database so Canadian teachers can access classroom-ready resources and connect with colleagues | |
| Solstice | JobPrep | Development of Job Prep mobile application gives job seekers in Illinois a comprehensive career-building resource with features to assist them through all phases of job search | |
| The Hershey Co. | Hershey’s Learn to Grow: Ghana Distance Learning Program | Working with Cisco Systems, Hershey brings broadband Internet and videoconferencing to remote Ghanaian elementary school, establishing connection to Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania and other organizations globally; also enables adult education and other services | |
| TIBCO Software Inc. | Sisters of Mercy Improves Chronic Care with TIBCO | Software enables remote monitoring of patients’ vital signs so clinicians located anywhere in the health system can monitor patients while other software unifies electronic records to create a single snapshot of each patient’s medical history, all helping clinicians deliver better care | |
Previous: Mobile Access | | Next: Safety & Security
Safety & Security
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command | Piracy Attack Risk Surface (PARS) | Forecasting tool integrates environmental conditions, pirate concept of operations, commercial shipping information and relevant piracy information to forecast probability of pirate activity over a 72-hour time frame within the Somali Basin Region and the Gulf of Aden Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Cisco Systems | Cisco Tactical Operations (TacOps) | Team of networking, radio communications and systems engineers along with logistics and operations coordinators provides free IT resources and services to support relief efforts and relief organizations in crisis situations | Finalist |
| City of Richmond, Va., Department of Information Technology | Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) | Software allows emergency dispatch centers, where 911 calls have priority, to respond more quickly to reports from alarm companies and enables better flow of critical information about alarm incidents to dispatchers to improve emergency response | Finalist |
| Thailand Royal Irrigation Department | Thailand Royal Irrigation Deploys Public Safety and Data Communications Wireless Video Mesh Network for Advanced Flood Forecasting | World’s first large-scale wireless mesh network transmits live highdefinition video feeds of river water levels and other environmental data so engineers and meteorologists can better predict when and where flooding could occur | Finalist |
| Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate | Identity Resolution Exploitation Management Services (IREMS) | System integrates and disseminates identification data derived from biometrics, forensics and other material collected worldwide to help security officials around the globe quickly identify suspects, criminals and terrorists | Finalist |
| Alabama Computer Forensics Institute | WARN Project | Project uses analytic and modeling tools to help law enforcement and child advocates identify trends and patterns of emerging criminal behavior directed toward Alabama youth | |
| Anaheim Police Department (APD) | APD Maps for iPad | Police department replaces paper maps and map books with iPad application that incorporates geographical data, building plans and features such as pan and zoom, increasing officers’ situational awareness and tactical response | |
| City of Ann Arbor | Technology, Integration and Collaboration to Support Fire Incident Response and Command | Platform combines proven incident response and incident command capabilities in networked emergency management system for coordinated use across all agencies and departments; provides real-time integration between systems supporting dispatch, mobile data computers and records management system | |
| Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection (CIP), Michigan Department of Technology Management and Budget | Integrating Cyber and Physical Security: Ending the Divide Using a Comprehensive Approach to Risk | New CIP function combines disparate security services to align policies and operations and enable technology innovation, using a comprehensive, metrics-based approach to reducing physical and cyber risks | |
| Dell SonicWALL | Our Kids of Miami-Dade/ Monroe — Case Study | Nonprofit agency providing foster care, adoption and related services uses Dell SonicWALL Aventail Secure Remote Access Appliance to enable workers using mobile devices and workers from other organizations to securely access the agency data they require | |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | Sentinel | Case management tool enables much faster, more comprehensive and more secure information sharing among FBI agents, field offices and analysts; employees can now share and view new information in minutes, compared with days or weeks using the previous system | |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. | HP Global Product Authentication Service | Cloud-based application helps organizations combat counterfeit goods and activities by allowing consumers to quickly scan or send SMS text with a code to determine if a product is real or fake prior to or after a purchase | |
| IDV Solutions | Visual Command Center | Software visually integrates data from internal and external systems and sources to give organizations a complete picture of possible sources of risk, such as civil unrest or natural disasters; overlays the data onto an interactive map to identify people and facilities at risk | |
| International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) | Electronically Secure Collaborative Application Platform for Experts (ES CAPE) | Platform escalates the speed with which IMPACT and organization members are able to respond to cyber threats by enabling them to access information and the collaboration of security experts in numerous locations around the globe | |
| Jersey City Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security | Jersey City IRAPP | Interoperable Response and Preparedness Platform provides coordinated communications between emergency personnel and critical infrastructure organizations by leveraging existing communications and media infrastructure as well as next-generation broadband efforts to create a resilient and scalable collaboration framework | |
| Long Beach Police Department | Using Innovative ECM Technology to Curb Crime | Integrated enterprise content management and records management technology enables police officers to access up-to-date information from their patrol cars so they have the information they need to arrest gang members | |
| NASA Office of the Chief Information Officer, Information Security Division | Web Application Security Program (WASP) | WASP employs custom methods to discover and remediate enterprise vulnerabilities before malicious actors exploit them; program conducts automated and manual testing across the enterprise to identify critical vulnerabilities and provides vulnerability scanning tools for stakeholders | |
| Nationwide Children’s Hospital | Zero Hero | Software collects and analyzes safety information, enabling employees to report and detail safety incidents at any computer so the system can help identify ways to reduce risks; has so far reduced preventable harm by 50% and serious safety events by 85% | |
| Opera Solutions Government Services | Open Source Threat Assessment Platform | TAP searches and analyzes in real time online content in 55 languages using 85 million-plus entities to determine potential threats around the globe and then advise organizations about incidents that could develop | |
| Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare | Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) | Internet-enabled tool allows care providers to report incidents involving elderly and physically or mentally disabled individuals in their care; replaces the former system to eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies, allowing commonwealth officials better insight and control over reports | |
| Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare | Information Technology Risk Management (ITRM) Program | Program streamlines the department’s regulatory audit management processes to enable effective risk-based decisions; establishes security risk framework and embraces automation that rationalizes more than 4,000 individual regulatory requirements into 350 unique integrated requirements | |
| Plugout | Taino Towers East Harlem Pilot Block Intelligent IP Video Surveillance with Facial Detection Access Control | State-of-the-art digital security setup with IP-based megapixel surveillance cameras, video management software, wireless two-way communication alert systems and motion identification system successfully combats crime at a housing complex and brings operational efficiencies to management staff | |
| Real-Time Technology Group | The Secure Worker Access Consortium (SWAC) Project | Project unites information from labor groups, private contractors, public agencies and security professionals to deliver a Web-based shared identity management and background screening system that public agencies and private enterprises can use to review, verify and credential individuals | |
| Sensuss | Sensuss Helmet | Helmet with body area network comprised of multiple sensors collects and transmits data to the cloud, making information about physical impacts that could cause concussions (such as location of hit) available to coaches, families and doctors | |
| Texas Department of Transportation | Drive Texas | Application with user-friendly interface provides travelers with real-time road conditions, traffic and weather feeds, and links to other useful information, making it easier for drivers to access data affecting their travel across Texas | |
| Town of Longboat Key | Fire PrePlan, Logbook and Inspection Program | Custom applications for iPad2 enable fire department personnel to more efficiently conduct required inspections, document findings and file reports, enabling the town to do more work with existing personnel | |
Previous: Philanthropy | | Next: Sustainability
Sustainability
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Green Grid | Improving Universal Data Center Resource Efficiency with Metrics and Benchmarking Models | Advocacy and education on resource-efficient data centers increasingly influences data center design and operations, with IT and data center managers using Green Grid tools as well as metrics to produce energy and cost savings Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Microsoft Corp. | Microsoft’s Energy Smart Buildings Initiative | Real-time analysis of data generated from facilities’ systems helps Microsoft fully understand its buildings’ performance, allowing the company to better optimize operations and reduce maintenance costs as well as environmental impact | Finalist |
| IBM & School District of Palm Beach County, Fla. | School District of Palm Beach County, Fla. | Centralized system manages school district’s entire leasing program, helping the district generate millions of dollars in extra revenue from rental fees by automating many of the tasks associated with leasing out the district’s facilities | Finalist |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. Data Center Services — Global Facilities | Data Center Sustainability Initiative | Initiative aimed at reducing company’s carbon footprint, increasing energy savings and lowering operational costs encompasses multiple projects and activities, including consolidation of data centers into fewer energy-efficient facilities and construction of a next-generation data center | Finalist |
| Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC) | SSC Goes Virtual | Nonprofit closes its head office and transitions to a virtual office model to save money and resources, relying on cloud-based collaboration tools to support remote teams and functions that were redistributed to provincial societies | Finalist |
| Aetna Innovation, Technology & Service Operations | Sustainable Data Center and Technology Initiative | Project to drive innovation and collaboration between IT and facilities teams yields a new, more efficient “green data center within a data center” design that uses virtualization to drastically cut power consumption and improve server utilization rate | |
| Biodiversity Heritage Library | Biodiversity Heritage Library | Digitization of science literature allows researchers around the world to access tens of millions of text pages without the need to travel to the library that houses the material, while an active social media presence engages scientists on the topic of biodiversity | |
| Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) | MetroPulse Chicago | Website uses application programming interfaces and pulls together fragmented information to support data visualizations, downloads and exports as well as other features and functions valuable to those working on public policy issues | |
| City University of Hong Kong | University Paperless Office Project | Guided by its commitment to sustainability, this project digitizes processes and storage that had been paper-based, helping to reduce paper and space consumption while making administrative processes more efficient and secure | |
| Coyote Logistics | Private Fleet | Proprietary technology identifies trucks scheduled to travel to their destinations empty so they can be filled with freight to be shipped, eliminating so-called empty miles and the CO2 exhaust they produce while creating more value for shippers | |
| Energy Future Holdings | Extreme Makeover: Green Edition | Initiative to create more sustainable facilities and operations includes transforming an aging data center into an Energy Star-rated, LEED-certified building that meets strict energy-efficiency performance levels | |
| IT-VETS Inc. | Hire Our Heroes | Nonprofit organization hires returning veterans to work with experienced IT staff providing IT support for clients, which gives veterans hands-on training while delivering affordable IT support services to community businesses and organizations | |
| Lehigh Hanson Inc. | Cadman Ready Mixed Concrete Fleet Navigation & Water Meters | Computing platforms deliver real-time data on concrete trucks’ locations as well as the material being delivered, allowing fleet managers to optimize truck routes to reduce vehicle idle time as well as cut use of fuel and raw materials | |
| Liquidity Services | Enhancing Sustainability for Leading Organizations | Company provides business and government clients as well as buying customers with a transparent, innovative and effective online marketplace for buying and selling surplus industrial machinery, equipment, materials, vehicles and inventory | |
| Quality Attributes Software | Haverford Environmental Center Green | Touchscreen application showcases community’s LEEDcertified building so residents and visitors can learn about the center’s energy conservation features and the methods used to reduce its carbon footprint | |
| SAP AG | Sustainable Asset Lifecycle Management (SALM @SAP) | Project seeks to optimize the lifecycle of IT assets and increase IT’s sustainability through numerous initiatives, including installation of power management software on computers, use of asset management tool to eliminate unused or duplicate devices, and deployment of automated paperless ordering process | |
| SmartDrive Systems Inc. | SmartDrive Fuel | Service combines technologies including video, mobile applications for drivers and a fuel management center to minimize fuel waste; fleet managers see how fleets are using fuel, where waste occurs, and where opportunities exist for fuel conservation | |
| TellEmotion Inc. | Greenlite | Conservation-promoting products draw on best practices developed by computer scientists, graphic artists, sociologists, engineers, environmental scientists and psychologists; products such as animated polar bears link consumers’ use of resources to their environmental impact to encourage conservation | |
| The Energy Authority | Hydroelectric Optimizer System | Software creates virtual simulations of the Columbia River hydroelectric system and incorporates dynamic programming to generate feasible schedules with the highest economic value to the utility | |
| The Hartford | Paperless e-Commerce Initiative | Project allows customers to view and download current and historical documents from their desktops and mobile devices; company representatives can also present and receive documents, including customer consent, electronically | |
| Verne Global | Dual-Sourced 100% Renewably Powered Data Center | Data center campus in Iceland uses only renewable energy sources (hydroelectric and geothermal energy along with year-round free cooling) to provide an environmentally friendly, competitively priced option that leaves no carbon footprint | |
Previous: Safety & Security | | Next: World Good
World Good
| Organization | Project Name | Project Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation | Fight to End HIV and Tuberculosis | Enterprise resource planning system brings operational efficiencies and provides staff with data where and when they need it so they can make well-informed decisions more quickly, leaving more time for direct patient care Read more |
21st Century Award winner |
| Dell | American Red Cross Listening Center for Humanitarian Relief | The first social media-based operation devoted to human relief, this center uses Dell products and services to spot trends, better anticipate the public’s needs and connect people with resources during a disaster | Finalist |
| ORTEC Consulting Group/ORTEC BV | North Star Alliance Corridor Medical Transfer System (COMETS) | Client health registration system enables the exchange of patientspecific data in a network of roadside health clinics in Africa as well as monitors and evaluates health trends on the local, national and regional level | Finalist |
| United Nations Development Programme | Information Security Assurance | Information Security Unit achieves ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certifications, representing its commitment to information security and quality management best practices; improves organization’s ability to meet its mission by better protecting its internal information resources, productivity and data | Finalist |
| Human Rights & International Criminal Law Online Forum | Human Rights & International Criminal Law Online Forum | The UCLA Sanela Diana Jenkins International Human Rights Project and the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor establish a forum to engage the worldwide legal community in dialogues on topics of interest to the prosecutor | Finalist |
| Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT), Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India | DEIT and the e-District National Rollout | Rollout of e-District shortens time to deliver government services and reduces administrative burden on government by enabling citizens to access a wide selection of services online or through village-based onestop shops called Common Service Centres | |
| Federal Health Architecture | CONNECT | Open-source solution provides a leading edge, flexible platform for health information exchange; healthcare organizations and physicians using CONNECT can effectively and securely exchange data with their partners, reduce costs and enhance services | |
| Frog | 1BestariNet | Project provides all 10,000 Malaysian state schools and 10 million users with 4G connectivity to Frog’s Virtual Learning Environment, an Internet operating system that gives students and teachers virtual access to education resources | |
| Gemalto | Conservation of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil by Gemalto M2M Technology | Technology aims to help catch tree thieves in action and stop deforestation; Cargo Tracck’s tracking solution uses Gemalto’s machine-to-machine module to enable cellular communications so devices attached to protected trees can alert law enforcement to illegal tree harvesting | |
| Infosys Ltd. | Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research launches OSDD program, providing a global platform where anyone can collaborate on developing therapies for tropic diseases, such as malaria | |
| Marist College | World Community Grid | College contributes its idle computer processing power to crunch work units for various humanitarian and sustainability projects through the World Community Grid, contributing more than 10,800 years of computing time since 2005 | |
| Millenniata Inc. | Permanent Digital Data Storage | M-Discs enable individuals and organizations to archive data without needing to keep discs in environmentally controlled conditions; helps organizations such as The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University preserve their digital collections for centuries | |
| Ministry of Culture, Media and Information Society of Serbia | Virtual Desktops in Serbian Primary Schools | Ministry outfits the nation’s 1,600 primary schools with computer labs comprised of virtual desktops to enable students to direct their learning and access online educational applications; virtual environment also simplifies management and reduces costs | |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg | Emergency.lu | Satellite-based telecommunications platform designed to work in disaster zones takes less than an hour to establish high-speed Internet connectivity for voice, data and image transmission, enabling aid workers to register their laptops, tablets and cellphones on the spot and use the satellite capacity at no cost | |
| TM Forum | Resilient Cloud Catalyst: Maintaining Service in the Face of Developing Threats | Project developed by nonprofit’s security program demonstrates how to maintain critical system resources by monitoring risks like Hurricane Sandy and proactively managing the physical resources of a cloud environment that supports mission-critical services | |
| U.S. Army, Communications- Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) | Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) | Reference Implementation Laboratory (RIL) Competitive, multivendor approach offers improved interoperability, timelier implementation and cost savings for the government; enables the government to foster more competition in the tactical radio market and eliminates the need for a single vendor to develop and sustain the radio | |
Previous: Sustainability
