1. Illinois Open Technology Challenge
Contest Rules
Introduction
The Illinois Open Technology Challenge [“The Competition”] is a joint initiative of the Illinois
Science & Technology Coalition and the Smart Chicago Collaborative. The project is supported
by the Illinois Innovation Council, The State of Illinois, the Chicago Community Trust, the John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Motorola Mobility Foundation, Google, and Comcast.
The Competition is made to provide recognition to individuals and teams (collectively,
“Contestants”) for developing innovative software applications that utilize data available from
one of the following sites: www.data.illinois.gov, www.metrochicagodata.org, and
www.ssatlas.org, to best address the needs or challenges in our Pilot Communities (Belleville,
Champaign, Rockford and South Suburbs of Chicagoland area) or the State of Illinois as a
whole.
Judging Criteria
Submissions will be judged on the following three criteria: (1) quality of the idea (including
creativity and originality); (2) implementation of the idea (including user experience and design);
and (3) potential impact on Illinois residents, visitors and businesses of either the selected Pilot
Community or the State of Illinois as a whole.
Judges will consider the following questions when evaluating submissions:
● Does this application address a community problem within the Pilot Community for
which it was submitted (or the State of Illinois) ?
● Does it solve this challenge in a new and effective way?
● Is there market potential, either consumer, government, or utility?
● Is there potential for funding, whether private, philanthropic, or crowd?
How to Participate
The Competition is open only to individuals or teams of individuals that are 16 or older that are
legally residing or a full-time enrolled college/university student in the state of Illinois. All team
members must be listed in a Submission. An individual may join more than one team.
The Competition is subject to all applicable United States federal, state and local laws and
regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official
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2. Rules and Sponsors and Project Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding on all
matters related to the Competition. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements
set forth herein.
Entry Period
Between February 1, 2013 at approximately 8:00AM Central Standard Time (“CST”) and March
29, 2013 at 11:59PM (the “Competition Submission Period”). Project Administrator’s computer is
the official timekeeping device for this Competition.
How to Enter
A. Register:
During the Competition Submission Period, register at
illinoisopentech.org/challenge/registration. Registration is free. In the event of a dispute as to
any registration, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register will be
deemed to be the Contestant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned
an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization
responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted
address.
B. Online Requirements:
Each Contestant will be required to provide the following as part of the Submission:
1 A link to the Application.
2 A text description of the Application.
3 At least one photograph of the working software Application.
4 Complete an application form explaining in detail your Application.
After the Submission has been submitted, the Submission cannot be modified in any way until
after Judging has ended.
C. Category Requirements:
You will also be required to check off which category your Submission is being submitted for.
The Project Administrator reserves the right to add or remove a Submission from a specific
category if the Submission does not meet the relevant requirements. The following is a short
description of each of the award category requirements:
Category Requirements
Best App – Pilot The judges will select the Best Overall Application based on the quality of
Communities the idea, implementation of the idea, and potential impact on Illinois
residents and visitors submitted at each municipality
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3. Best App – The judges will select the Best Overall Application based on the quality of
Statewide the idea, implementation of the idea, and potential impact for all Illinois
residents and visitors.
D. Submission requirements for each category are as follows:
1 Submissions must be software applications that use at least one of the data sets from
www.data.illinois.gov, www.metrochicagodata.org, and www.ssatlas.org. There may be
limited changes (updating or refreshing) to the existing data sets.
2 Submissions may be any kind of software application, be it for the web, a personal
computer, a mobile handheld device, SMS, or any software platform broadly available to
the public. Preference will be given to Applications that run natively on the web, which
will be of greatest use to the largest amount of people.
3 Submissions must be free to the public throughout the Competition and for at least one
year after.
4 Submissions must contain an Application that functions as expressed in the text
description.
5 Applications may combine publicly available dataset with data from other sources,
provided the Contestant is authorized to distribute all data through a free, publicly
available Application.
6 Submissions must not be substantially similar to a prior Submission already submitted in
this Competition or Apps for Metro Chicago competition that commenced on June 1,
2011. Information about submissions to the Apps for Metro Chicago can be viewed here
7 Submissions must be in English, or if in a language other than English, the Submissions
must be accompanied by an English translation of that text.
8 Submissions must not be indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, demonstrate a lack
of respect for public morals or conduct or adversely affects the reputation of the
Sponsors, subject to judgment of the Project Administrator.
9 Submissions must not: a) be illegal under applicable laws; b) depict hatred, defame,
threaten a specific community in the society or incite violence; c) contain vulgar
language or violence; or d) contain pornography, obscenity or sexual activity.
10 Submissions must a) be original; b) be solely owned by Contestant and that no other
party has any rights or interest, whether known or unknown; and c) not violate the
intellectual property, common law or privacy rights of other parties. A Contestant may
contract with a third party to assist with the creation of their Submission, provided the
Contestant is the sole and unequivocal owner of all intellectual property and licenses in
the Submission.
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4. E. Submission Rights for Contestants:
Contestants will own the intellectual property rights to their Submission but the City, Sponsors
and Project Administrator will maintain a royalty free license to, without limitation: a) Post the
Submissions on illinoisopentech.org/challenge/registration; b) Make the Submissions available
for the course of the Competition and 12 months after the conclusion of the Competition
Submission Period; and c) Display, disseminate and utilize the Submissions for noncommercial
purposes for a period of 12 months after the conclusion of the Competition Submission Period.
Display of Submissions
Submissions will be posted on illinoisopentech.org after being screened by the Project
Administrator for basic functionality, accuracy of messaging, and integrity (i.e., security). The
Project Administrator has the right to request access to the Application in person or via any
reasonable manner to verify that the Application functions and operates as stated in the
Submission. Failure by a Contestant to honor such a request will result in the Submission’s
immediate disqualification. All Contestants will have the same ability to view Submissions
posted on the website. Non-Contestants interested in the Competition are also encouraged to
register on illinoisopentech.org . To receive updates on the Competition, registration will be
required by joining our mailing list.
Winner Selection and Judging Criteria
Submissions will initially be screened by a qualified internal panel selected by the Sponsors at
their sole discretion. The internal panel will consist of the Sponsors and Project Administrator.
The internal panel will judge the Submissions on the criteria identified to select finalists. Then
the finalists will be judged again on the criteria identified by an expert judging panel determined
by the Sponsors and Project Administrator and including representatives from each Pilot
Community governing body. The external panel will be identified on illinoisopentech.org .
The Project Administrator reserves the right to substitute or modify the judging panel at anytime
for any reason. Judges do have the right to withdraw without advance notice in the event of
extenuating circumstances beyond their control. Judges will be fair and impartial. A judge may
elect to recuse him or herself from judging a Submission, if in the judge’s sole discretion it is not
appropriate for him or her to judge that particular Submission because of a past or current
relationship with that particular Contestant. A Submission will not be at a disadvantage if one or
more judge recuses himself or herself.
Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible Submissions received and the quality of the
Submissions. The approximate dates for the judging panel are between April 1, 2013 and April
12, 2013.
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5. Verification of Potential Winners
All potential competition winners are subject to verification by Sponsors and/or Project
Administrator whose decisions are final and binding in all matters related to the competition.
Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules.
The potential winners will be notified on or about April 19, 2013. The potential winners will be
required to sign and return to the Project Administrator, within ten (10) business days of the date
notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release (except where prohibited) in
order to claim his/her prize if applicable.
If a potential winner of any prize cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the affidavit of
eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period (if applicable), or if the
prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits prize. In the event
that a potential winner of a Competition prize is disqualified for any reason, the Project
Administrator may award the applicable prize to an alternate winner who had the highest score
remaining of the eligible entries. If a winner is considered to be a minor is his or her state of
residence, at the Project Administrator’s sole option, the prize will either be awarded to the
minor winner’s parent or legal guardian on behalf of the winner, or the minor’s parent or
guardian will be required to ratify and sign the affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release.
Prize Money
$75,000 in total prize money will be divided between Submissions for each of the four Pilot
Communities and the State of Illinois. Each individual prize may total no more than $15,000.
Project Administrator and Sponsors reserve the right to divide up total prize awards to multiple
winners in each area at their discretion.
Winner Total Prize Money Quantity
Best Statewide Application $ 15,000.00 at least 1*
Best App – Local (Up to 4) $ 60,000.00 at least 4*
*The Project Administrator and Sponsors also reserve the right to award no prize in a category if
no qualified Submission is received in that category.
For all Prizes: Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt
and/or use. Sponsors reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. No transfer or
substitution of a prize is permitted except by Sponsors. The prize will be mailed to the winner’s
address within 45 days of receipt of the signed affidavit(s) of eligibility and liability/publicity
release(s) form(s). If a team of individuals is selected as a prize winner, the prize will be
awarded to the group and it will be up to the group, company or organization to split or
appropriately allocate the prize. No single submission can win more than one (1) prize.
Entry Conditions and Release
By entering, you agree to the following conditions and release:
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6. (1) Each Contestant agrees to comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the
decisions of the Sponsors, Project Administrator, and/or the Competition judges which are
binding and final in all matters relating to this Competition.
(2) Each Contestant also agrees to release and hold harmless the Sponsors, Project
Administrator, and their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the prize
suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering,
advertising or promoting the Competition, and all of their respective past and present officers,
directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and
against any and all claims, expenses, and liability. These claims, expenses, and liability include,
but are not limited to, negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including
but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private
facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of
right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights,
property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a Contestant’s entry,
creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Competition, acceptance or
use or misuse of prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast,
transmission, performance, exploitation or use of entry.
(3) Each Contestant also agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsors and
Project Administrator from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including
reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to a Contestant’s participation in the
Competition and/or Contestant’s acceptance, use or misuse of prize.
Publicity
Except where prohibited, participation in the Competition constitutes winners’ consent to
Sponsors’, Project Administrator’s and their agents’ use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph,
voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide,
without further payment or consideration.
General Conditions
Sponsors and Project Administrator reserve the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the
Competition, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsors
and/or Project Administrator’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of
the Competition, as determined by Sponsors and/or Project Administrator in their sole
discretion. Sponsors and/or Project Administrator reserve the right in their sole discretion to
disqualify any individual or competitor it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the
operation of the Competition or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other
promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.
Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition
may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsors
and/or Project Administrator reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the
fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsors and/or Project Administrator’s failure to enforce any
term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
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7. Sponsors and Project Administrator are not responsible for, nor are they required to count,
incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, unlawful or illicit votes, including those secured through
payment, votes achieved through automated means or by registering more than one e-mail
account and name, using another Contestant’s e-mail account and name, as well as those lost
for technical reasons or otherwise.
Limitations of Liability
The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information,
whether caused by the Contestants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming
associated with or utilized in the Competition; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not
limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or
software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the
Competition; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the
Competition or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property
which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Contestant’s participation in
the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.
If for any reason a Contestant’s Submission is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost,
or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is to provide another Submission. No
more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.
Disputes
Contestant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or
connected with this Competition, or any prizes awarded, other than those concerning the
administration of the Competition or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually,
without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action
arising out of or connected with this Competition, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved
exclusively by the United States District Court or the appropriate Illinois State Court; (3) any and
all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred,
including costs associated with entering this Competition, but in no event attorneys’ fees;; and
(4) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby
waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other
damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages
multiplied or otherwise increased.
Privacy
Project Administrator collects personal information from you when you enter the Competition.
The information collected is subject to the privacy policy located below:
Effective February 1, 2013
We at the Illinois Open Technology Challenge have created this Privacy Policy because we
know you care about how information you provide to us is used and shared. This Privacy Policy
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8. describes how we gather information from you when you visit the ILOpenTech website located
at www.illinoisopentech.org and its affiliated websites (collectively referred to as the “Site”), and
how we may use and share that information. By visiting our Site, you are accepting the practices
described in this Privacy Policy and the accompanying Terms of Service.
In this Privacy Policy, the words “we,” ‘us” and “our” refer to Illinois Open Technology Challenge.
Collected Information and Use
If you desire to submit an application for our competition via the Site, you will be required to
submit certain personally identifiable information to Illinois Open Technology Challenge
(“Personally Identifiable Information”). Personally Identifiable Information may include your
name, email address, phone number and your location. Personally Identifiable Information will
not be publicly displayed on the Site unless you give us permission to display specific
information (such as your full name). Your email address and phone number will never be
publicly displayed.
You may enter additional content including your biography, challenge ideas, wishes, photos,
profile image, questions, suggestions, solutions, or other content or submissions (collectively
referred to as the “User Content”). User Content may be viewable by the public. It is your
responsibility to ensure that you do not submit any User Content that you do not want publicly
displayed, and that nothing you submit includes proprietary information, information that’s illegal
to make public, or personal information about you such as your social security number.
We use the Personally Identifiable Information you provide in a manner that is consistent with
this Privacy Policy. For instance, we will use the Personally Identifiable Information you input
during the registration process to administer access to the Site and to award prizes by Illinois
Open Technology Challenge Project Administrator. We will also use your Personally Identifiable
Information and other non-personally identifiable information collected through the Site to help
us improve the content and functionality of the Site and to better understand the users of our
Site. In addition, we may use your Personally Identifiable Information to update you about the
Site. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive such information or
communications from us, please email us at info@illinoisopentech.org.
The Illinois Open Technology Challenge Sponsor, or a third party service provider that does not
have access to your Personally Identifiable Information, may collect statistics about the behavior
of visitors to the Site. Our servers may automatically record information that your browser sends
whenever you visit the Illinois Open Technology Challenge website. These server logs may
include information such as the page(s) you visited, your Internet Protocol address, Illinois Open
Technology Challenge cookie information, web browser type, browser language, and the date
and time of your request. Illinois Open Technology Challenge uses this traffic data to help
diagnose problems with its server(s), analyze trends and administer the Site.
Cookies
Like many websites, we use “cookie” technology to collect additional website usage data and to
improve the Site and our service. A cookie is a small data file that we may transfer to your
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9. computer’s hard disk. We do not use cookies to collect Personally Identifiable Information.
Illinois Open Technology Challenge may use both session cookies and persistent cookies to
better understand how you interact with the Site and our service, to monitor aggregate usage by
our users and web traffic routing on the Site, and to improve the Site and our service.
You can set your web browser to refuse all cookies, but some Illinois Open Technology
Challenge features and services may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.
Sharing your Information
Illinois Open Technology Challenge is not in the business of selling your information. We
consider this information to be a vital part of our relationship with you. There are, however,
certain circumstances in which we may share your Personally Identifiable Information with
certain third parties including those set forth below:
Agents, Consultants and Related Third Parties
Illinois Open Technology Challenge, like many businesses, sometimes hires other companies to
perform certain business-related functions. For example, we may pass your Personally
Identifiable Information to our designated service provider(s) in order to process payments, send
mailings, and maintain databases. When we employ another company to perform a function of
this nature, we provide them only with the information that they need to perform their specific
function.
Advertisers
Illinois Open Technology Challenge may aggregate your information with information of other
users, and disclose such information to advertisers and other third parties for marketing and
promotional purposes. However, Illinois Open Technology Challenge will never disclose your
Personally Identifiable Information to advertisers and other third parties for marketing and
promotional purposes without your express consent.
Activities and other Events
Illinois Open Technology Challenge may enter into collaborative relationships with other third
parties on the Site with respect to activities or events. If you participate in these challenges,
activities or events, you may be asked to provide Personally Identifiable Information or to
answer questions that seek your personal information. We may transfer your Personally
Identifiable Information to third parties in conjunction with such activities or events.
Legal Requirements
Illinois Open Technology Challenge may disclose your Personally Identifiable Information if
required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) comply
with a legal obligation, (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Illinois Open Technology
Challenge, © act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the Site or
the public, or (d) protect against legal liability.
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10. Business Transfers
As we develop our business, we might sell or buy businesses or assets. In the event of a
corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, challenges, activities or
events may be part of the transferred assets.
Children
Illinois Open Technology is not directed at individuals under sixteen (16) years of age, the Site
does not knowingly accept registrations from children under sixteen (16) years of age and we do
not intend to collect any Personally Identifiable Information from such individuals.
If you suspect that your child under sixteen (16) years of age has submitted an application on
the Site, please let us know by emailing info@illinoisopentech.org and we will take action to
rectify the situation.
Although Illinois Open Technology does not knowingly accept registrations from users under the
age of sixteen (16), minors are eligible to enter this contest by having their parents or guardians
register at illinoisopentech.org on their behalf and are required to submit a parental consent
notice to info@illinoisopentech.org before their child’s submissions will be eligible to win the
contest.
Your Acceptance of this Privacy Policy
By using the Site, you signify your assent to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this
Privacy Policy, please do not use the Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting
of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.
Confidentiality
Illinois Open Technology Challenge is very concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of
your Personally Identifiable Information. You, too, need to strive to protect against unauthorized
access to your password and to your computer by signing off once you have finished using a
shared computer.
Archives
Illinois Open Technology may keep copies of user information, or other content provided by you,
after their removal from the site in archive storage. This archive storage may include past
versions of stored items that have since been modified or deleted.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this policy at any time by simply posting such modification on the Site. We will
notify you of any material changes to our Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy on
our Site. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes.
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11. Conditions of Use
If you decide to visit the Site, your visit and any possible dispute over privacy is subject to this
privacy policy and our Terms of Service, including limitations on damages and application of
Illinois state law.
Links to Other Sites
Illinoisopentech.org has links to other websites. Once you follow a link to somewhere else, your
actions are no longer subject to this Privacy Policy.
Important Notice to Non-U.S. Residents
The Site is operated in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please
be aware that any information you provide to us will be transferred to the United States. By
using the Site and/or providing us with any information, you consent to this transfer.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this policy or our site in general, please contact us at
info@illinoisopentech.org
Competition Results
For results of the competition visit illinoisopentech.org on or around April 19, 2013
Sponsors and Project Administrator
Sponsors: (1) State of Illinois, (2) Chicago Community Trust, (3) Google, (4) Illinois Innovation
Council, (5) John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, (6) Motorola Mobility Foundation, and (7)
Comcast.
Project Administrator: Illinois Science & Technology Coalition and Smart Chicago Collaborative
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