Application Development Awards

$10,000 to fund your Gigabit Project and Exposure to a National Market

View Prior Accepted Proposals

• Fall 2017 Accepted Proposals 
• Spring 2018 Accepted Proposals

Overview

The US Ignite Smart Gigabit Communities (SGC) Program supports local community innovation ecosystems to sustainably develop and deploy next generation gigabit applications. US Ignite has created a Gigabit Application/Service Development Fund to support work directly leading to the development and adoption of gigabit applications in our network of SGC communities. Utah Ignite, a program between US Ignite and the Lehi Area Chamber of Commerce is the SGC community in Utah. These funds are competitive and should directly lead to the creation of gigabit applications or services and adoption in other communities. SGC communities should encourage gigabit application developers to participate in the SGC program by partnering and assisting with the application for these funds.

Timeline

Current application deadline is August 10, 2018.

Requirements

• The application developer must have a signed MOU with Utah Ignite indicating their willingness to participate as part of the SGC (Smart Gigabit Community) portfolio. View our MOU.
• Developers of gigabit applications or services that apply for the development fund should have a statement of support from their Utah Ignite SGC Community Leaders.

Award
A one time award of up to $10,000 may be requested per company or project to support the development of a gigabit application or services (what is a gigabit application?). Funds may be used in any of the following categories:

• Creation of application code or service configuration
• Creation of distributables or deployment frameworks
• Development of system and/or end-user documentation and training materials (including webinars)
• Services used for validation of code or deployment framework
• Funding support or critical fixes and ongoing support
• Licensing fees for any software or service that relates to sharing, training or deployment of the application or service

Applying
The Application Development Awards Proposal Template should be completed by the application development team with guidance and feedback from Utah Ignite. After the proposal is completed, it should be submitted by the Utah Ignite leadership team along with a written agreement or MOU between the development team and Utah Ignite Smart Gigabit Community.

Awards will be granted in rounds each quarter, as long as funding remains. Applicants will have 30 days once a round begins to submit their application. New award rounds will begin approximately each quarter.

Judging & Award Distribution
Awards will be announced within 30 days of a close of an application round based on, but not limited to, the recommendation and backing of the SGC community, strength of the use of gigabit or advanced network, potential transformative impact and readiness for deployment. Each SGC will be asked to rank their support for each application submitted in their community in a round.

Reporting
The award will include reporting requirements as per National Science Foundation guidelines. Utah Ignite must report to US Ignite, which will include reporting on the expenditure of the award and progress on application development in its quarterly reports to US Ignite. The financial report should include the application name, amount spent, and categories in which funds were spent. The Progress Report should include updates on each application including gigabit application or service development. Other reporting may be required on an ad hoc basis.

Additionally, developers or community representatives will create and update a profile for the application on the US Ignite Application Repository to promote it nationally and list it as part of the SGC community of applications.