The “Strong Cities, Strong Communities” (SC2) challenge in Hartford is accepting new teams into the contest from August 14 - August 18. The SC2 challenge is part of a federal initiative launched to “enhance the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies.” Currently, in addition to Hartford, two other cities are participating in the initiative: Greensboro, NC and Las Vegas, NV. Each participating city has launched a competition with a cash prize for the best economic development plan.
The SC2 challenge in Hartford is looking for detailed, feasible, and sustainable economic development plans that will attract, assist, and retain (1) the most likely to succeed first-time and serial entrepreneurs and (2) established companies with significant growth potential.
The competition will take place in two stages. In Phase I, registered teams will create proposals, due September 22, 2014, and a panel of community leaders will review the proposals. In phase II, the finalists will further develop their proposals into actionable plans. Hartford initially opened the contest in March. Cash prizes total $900,000.
