Click here to order your hackathon t-shirt BEFORE April 15th. Pick up will be at Union Hall on or after April 29th.
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The City of Cincinnati is working with Cintrifuse to host a city-wide litter hack-a-thon dedicated to crowdsourcing fresh ideas from innovators and creative minds across the city’s 52 communities to reduce the impact of litter on our neighborhoods.
It takes one idea to turn the tide of litter in Cincinnati. Make it yours.
We are looking for a diverse set of ideas to solve the litter problem...none are too small or large! Need a head start? Examples and problem sets are listed out below. You can view submission requirements and submit your idea here. All ideas must be submitted by 8:00 a.m. on April 8th to be included in the pitch contest.Â
Participants have the opportunity to share their idea in person or over video. Each team presenting their idea in person will have an allotted time to pitch to the judging panel. All participants, audience members, and sponsors are encouraged to attend the pitch competition!Â
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Each team submitting virtually can submit up to a 5 minute video pitch here.Â
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Register here to attend the pitch content.Â
The hack-a-thon kickoff will be held over Zoom and will provide valuable information, data, and resources for those participating in the hack. Mentors will be available during this session to answer specific questions and provide advice on all things innovation!
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Use these 2 days to bunker down and hack away at the litter problem in Cincinnati. You can ideate in your home, office, classroom, Union Hall, anywhere works! There is no set schedule for this time period, you can take as much or as little time as you need to come up with your idea and presentation.
Hack teams will be coming back together at Union Hall to celebrate all things innovation and litter. Each team will have an allotted time to pitch to the judging panel. All participants, audience members, and sponsors are encouraged to attend! This event will also be held over Zoom for those participating virtually.
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-Feasibility: Solution, process or design can be reasonably executed
-Efficiency: Demonstrates an effective use of resources
-Utility: Meaningfully addresses a specific problem or unmet/undermet need
-Novelty: Hasn’t been done or offers a unique approach to something currently being done
-Impact: Measurably affects lives of those in our community
Pitch deck/presentation: This should include a detailed outline of your idea, visuals and graphics that bring the idea to life and visualize its impact, the ideal implementation, and anything else necessary to tell the story of your idea. Additionally, include the contact information for each team member in the pitch deck. All participating teams and individuals must submit a pitch deck. If you are not attending the in-person pitch contest or presenting your idea over Zoom, you must submit an accompanying video presentation. The deck and any accompanying video should be submitted here.
The pitch deck must be submitted by 8:00 a.m. on April 8th
Each team will have 5 minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. There are three options for doing so:
-Recommended: In-person
-Live via Zoom
-Recorded over video
Pitch slot signup: Please make sure to sign up for your preferred slot for the pitch contest. You can do so here. Pitches will begin at 9:30 and go until 1:00 p.m.
We don't expect you to have one idea to solve the entire litter problem (but if you do, that is okay too!). Sometimes, an idea as small as turning dumped tires into tire swings makes all the difference. That's why we have three distinct problem sets that outline specific problems and provide insights into how we could solve them.Â
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The challenge of litter and waste is personal and emotional when it is experienced in our communities. When the scope of residential ownership opens up to corporate and out-of-town investors, they fail to see the impact neglect has on the residents who live there and who feel disconnected and powerless to influence their own experience.Â
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Key questions:Â
Why are there certain places in the city that are more prone to litter?Â
How might we reduce litter and waste by instilling pride of ownership in the community, building social capital, and incentivizing good habits?Â
How might we address the litter problem in a way that makes Cincinnati more beautiful, more inviting, and a safer place for residents and visitors alike?
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Need a head start? Check out these examples:Â
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Excessive consumption and unsustainable business practices create litter and waste that harm the environment, infrastructure, and public health. As the world grapples with a need for more sustainable practices, Cincinnati has the opportunity to embrace new business models and better habits and become a leader in the circular economy.
Key questions
How might we incentivize or inspire businesses, communities and small organizations to produce less waste and adopt more sustainable habits?Â
What new models and opportunities are there for green and sustainable new businesses to thrive in Cincinnati?
Reduce, reuse and recycle efforts are not new, but how do we inspire a greater adoption?
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Need a head start? Check out these examples:Â
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Litter and waste are complex issues. City departments and community organizations are siloed, using separate technologies, tactics, and pulling from different pools of resources. Disparate groups are making separate efforts to pick up litter all over the city, but not working together. This limits the impact of efforts to solve and comes at a cost to the taxpayers and to the people who experience litter as a part of their daily lives.
Key questions:Â
How might we create a holistic understanding of how to connect all the available departments and resources?Â
How might we help people properly report and dispose of waste in an intuitive and efficient way?Â
How might we connect the community's efforts in litter reduction to improve their impact?Â
Need a head start? Check out these examples:Â
What the heck is a hack-a-thon?
 A hack-a-thon is an event designed to drive sustained innovation and crowdsourced solutions to address pressing real-life business and problems and social issues. Teams of innovators work together for a concentrated amount of time to develop ideas to a specific challenge, then submit their concepts for evaluation. Hack-a-thons are a great place to learn new skills, meet new people and network, and to collaborate on an amazing project.Â
How do I form a team?
Your hack-a-thon team can make or break the entire experience. Our top tips are to form a diversely-skilled and equally-collaborative team as early as possible. The better your team vibes, the better your experience will be. Once you have your team picked out, designate one person to register the team and all members.
What do I need to participate?Â
Register yourself or your team by March 30th at the link above. There are a limited amount of spaces available, so make sure to meet the deadline to save your spot! Once registered, you'll attend the virtual kickoff on the 6th. After the kickoff, use the two days to think up an idea! On the 8th, you'll submit your idea and have the opportunity to pitch to a panel of judges.Â
What is the agenda?Â
The event will start on April 6th at 9 a.m. with a 90-minute virtual kickoff. Following this kickoff, teams will have from 10:30 a.m. on April 6th to 9:00 a.m. on April 8th to "hack" on the litter problem. On April 8th, there will be a pitch presentation for teams to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. The pitch presentations will last from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where is the event located?
The kickoff and pitch presentations will occur at Union Hall in Over-The-Rhine. Each team will hack in their individual locations. These locations can be anywhere, from classrooms to rooms at Union Hall or other office spaces. If your team does not have a location, please contact us.