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Headline: Microsoft Research and The America21 Project Partnering to Put Urban Focus on STEM, Technology Description: On Feb. 20, Microsoft Research, in conjunction with The America21 Project, announced the three pilot cities for the Activate Local Communities Across America Initiative: Chicago; Portland, Ore.; and Cambridge, Mass. Credit: Posted by Rob Knies Post: On Feb. 20, Microsoft Research, in conjunction with The America21 Project , announced the three pilot cities for the Activate Local Communities Across America Initiative (ALC): Chicago, Portland, Ore. and Cambridge, Mass. The ALC, which grew out of a challenge last summer from the White House  Office of Science and Technology Policy and was featured Jan. 31 during the White House Tech Inclusion Summit, focuses on making America’s cities vibrant, inclusive centers of urban innovation and entrepreneurship that can connect talent from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students in diverse communities to the economic opportunities of the 21st century. “The nation's tech economy is thriving, and Chicago is leading the way—we are seeing unprecedented growth, from established international corporations to startups designed by our own residents ,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. In order to support this vital industry and open up doors for our children to succeed in this dynamic sector, city governments must be nimble. We established the city’s first Technology Diversity Council because collaboration is key to creating opportunity for all in t he technology economy, today and in the future. With new collaboration with Microsoft, we look forward to what we can le arn from other cities and to providing insights into our successes that can serve as a road map for years to come.” The pilot programs are leaders in for ging public-private collaborations to encourage the growth of diverse opportunities in their cities’ technology sectors, and the pilots are making strides in increasing access to STEM education opportunities to expand access to the technology economy in the future. They were selected for diversity of geography, population, and industry. The pilots will last for approximately six months, although their impact will be felt far longer. During the programs, questions of infrastructure and effective public-private partnerships will be addressed, and by the t ime the pilots are complete, their combined experiences should provide a road map for any city in the country that wants to replicate the work. America21 will then work with the pilot cities to extend their programs and assist other cities interested in participating. “America21 is proud to partner with Microsoft in the Activating Local Communities initiative,” said Chad Womack, founder of Amerca21 and co-c hair of the initiative, along with Rane Johnson-Stempson of Microsoft Research Connections. “We are ready to work with local stakeholders in both the public and

ALC Pilot Announcement - Feb 20 2013

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Headline:

Microsoft Research and The America21 Project Partnering to Put Urban Focus on STEM, Technology

Description:

On Feb. 20, Microsoft Research, in conjunction with The America21 Project, announced the three pilot

cities for the Activate Local Communities Across America Initiative: Chicago; Portland, Ore.; andCambridge, Mass.

Credit:

Posted by Rob Knies

Post:

On Feb. 20, Microsoft Research, in conjunction with The America21 Project, announced the three pilot

cities for the Activate Local Communities Across America Initiative (ALC): Chicago, Portland, Ore. and

Cambridge, Mass.

The ALC, which grew out of a challenge last summer from the White House Office of Science andTechnology Policy and was featured Jan. 31 during the White House Tech Inclusion Summit, focuses on

making America’s cities vibrant, inclusive centers of urban innovation and entrepreneurship that can

connect talent from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students in diverse

communities to the economic opportunities of the 21st century.

“The nation's tech economy is thriving, and Chicago is leading the way—we are seeing unprecedented

growth, from established international corporations to startups designed by our own residents,” Mayor

Rahm Emanuel said. “In order to support this vital industry and open up doors for our children to

succeed in this dynamic sector, city governments must be nimble. We established the city’s first

Technology Diversity Council because collaboration is key to creating opportunity for all in thetechnology economy, today and in the future. With new collaboration with Microsoft, we look forward

to what we can learn from other cities and to providing insights into our successes that can serve as a

road map for years to come.” 

The pilot programs are leaders in forging public-private collaborations to encourage the growth of 

diverse opportunities in their cities’ technology sectors, and the pilots are making strides in increasing

access to STEM education opportunities to expand access to the technology economy in the future. They

were selected for diversity of geography, population, and industry. The pilots will last for approximately

six months, although their impact will be felt far longer. During the programs, questions of infrastructure

and effective public-private partnerships will be addressed, and by the time the pilots are complete,

their combined experiences should provide a road map for any city in the country that wants to

replicate the work. America21 will then work with the pilot cities to extend their programs—and assist

other cities interested in participating.

“America21 is proud to partner with Microsoft in the Activating Local Communities initiative,” said Chad

Womack, founder of Amerca21 and co-chair of the initiative, along with Rane Johnson-Stempson of 

Microsoft Research Connections. “We are ready to work with local stakeholders in both the public and

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private sectors to ensure that the Activating Local Communities initiative yields sustainable results in

both the pilot cities and future innovation communities across the country.” 

Johnson-Stempson, director of  Education and Scholarly Communication for Microsoft Research

Connections, explains the motivation behind the ALC effort.

“One of the biggest challenges in growing the pipeline of students in computing, especially women and

under-represented minorities, is the lack of awareness of computing careers and the need for 1.4 million

new technology jobs by 2018,” she said. “Parents don’t know, students don’t know, and community

members in at-risk areas have no idea about the opportunities available to them.” 

In part, the ALC initiative intends to provide direction to a stream of well-intentioned, STEM-focused

organizations stepping on each other’s toes in their haste to make a difference.

“There are so many organizations, public and private, working hard to make an impact in STEM and

computer science and for under-represented groups,” Johnson-Stempson said, “that programs are being

duplicated and folks are going after the same funding and competing instead of collaborating.” 

“There are great ideas that can be replicated that are working, but each city is different, and what is

working well in one may not work well in another. It takes a coordinated effort with a local approach to

be successful. There is so much great work happening right now, and we want to enable it to happen

better, faster, and more efficiently.” 

Todd Park, U.S. chief technology officer and assistant to President Obama, was pleased to see the ALC

project gain momentum.

“In order to maintain our position as the global leader in innovation, it is crucial that this nation’s tech

industry reflect the full diversity of America itself,” Park said. “That’s been the goal of the ‘tech inclusion’events that the White House has sponsored, and it is hugely gratifying to see projects like the ALC

coming to fruition from that process.” 

Ultimately, Johnson-Stempson said, the ALC initiative benefits all Americans.

“My hope is that cities large, small, urban, or rural in America see technology as an opportunity to grow

their economic development,” Johnson-Stempson said, “and that the great innovations in every sector

have a technology component and amazing jobs for everyone.

“Every child should get the opportunity to be a producer of the next technology innovation, not just a

consumer. Every citizen needs to have computer-science understanding and skills, and I hope that alarge percentage of students will want to get a computer-science degree and help build the future of 

America.” 

Tags:

Microsoft Research, The America21 Project, Activate Local Communities Across America Initiative, ALC,

pilot, Chicago, Portland, Cambridge, White House, Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House

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Tech Inclusion Summit, urban, innovation, entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering,

mathematics, STEM, diverse, opportunities, diversity, public-private, Rahm Emanuel, Chad Womack, co-

chair, Rane Johnson-Stempson, Microsoft Research Connections, Education and Scholarly

Communication, Todd Park