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<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#00467E">News Media Contacts<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#00467E">Amy Blalock, Public Affairs Manager, City of Durham<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#00467E">919.560.4123 x11253 | 919.475.7735 (mobile)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><a href="mailto:Amy.Blalock@DurhamNC.gov"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Amy.Blalock@DurhamNC.gov</span></a><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:5.0pt;color:#00467E"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#00467E">Dawn Dudley, Sr. Public Information Specialist, Durham County<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#00467E">919.560.0008<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right"><a href="mailto:ddudley@dconc.gov"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">ddudley@dconc.gov</span></a><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:50.0pt;color:#00538E">News Release</span><span style="color:#D3372A"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:#D3372A">For Immediate Release: January 14, 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black">Innovate Durham Seeks Entrepreneurs for
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">2021 <span style="color:black">Program</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Local Government to Become a Laboratory for Startups & Entrepreneurs;
<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Applications Accepted
</span></i><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">January 14 — February 15<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">DURHAM, N.C. – Local startups and entrepreneurs looking for a way to develop and test their products and services
</span>may now <span style="color:black">apply for the </span><a href="https://durhamnc.gov/3165/Innovate-Durham">2021 Innovate Durham program</a><span style="color:black">.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Innovate Durham, a partnership between the City and County of Durham that allows entrepreneurs to use local government as a laboratory to test products and ideas, is now taking
<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVG41UfZX47uWkH-zsI-pgt5CR640Qi8TyMikZVouD2BofhA/viewform?usp=sf_link">
applications</a> for its fourth cohort from Thursday, January 14 through Monday, February 15.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">An informational<span style="color:black"> webinar will be held on
</span>Thursday, February 4 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will include time for questions about this year's iteration of the program.<span style="color:black"> Interested parties can register for the webinar now
</span>on <span style="color:black">the </span><a href="https://durhamnc.gov/3165/Innovate-Durham">Innovate Durham webpage</a><span style="color:black">.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">This year, the </span>program will be conducted virtually in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
<span style="color:black">Selected startups and entrepreneurs will begin testing their products or services with access to City and County staff, data and facilities
</span>in May<span style="color:black">, followed by a ‘Demo Day’ to showcase the results of their work in
</span>late September<span style="color:black">. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">According to Monica Croskey Chaparro<span style="color:black">, director of the City’s Office of Performance and Innovation, the City and County are looking for local partners to help advance each organization’s
</span>priorities<span style="color:black">. “</span>Innovate Durham has been instrumental in advancing our City’s vision,” Chaparro said. “We’re excited to have Innovate Durham return in a modified, virtual offering because if 2020 taught us anything, it’s
that we must be able to adapt to effectively manage, and even excel, through disruption. The mutually beneficial tools that startups and local governments share through Innovate Durham cultivate the process of discovery, engineering and transformation necessary
for innovation to continue in our community.<span style="color:black">” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background:lime;mso-highlight:lime"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">During the <a href="https://durhamnc.gov/3934/2019-Cohort">
2019 program</a>, six Durham-based companies worked closely with the City, County, and Durham Public Schools in order to bring new innovative solutions to local government. Some of these solutions included
<span style="background:white;mso-highlight:white">an air conditioning and refrigeration monitoring system; a calendaring app to improve school event scheduling; technology to assess existing recycling infrastructure; a real-time needs registry for crisis response;
technology to automate complex business processes; and critical reasoning assessments for prospective employees.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">According to </span>Chaparro<span style="color:black">, working with the City or County
</span>can <span style="color:black">help the selected entrepreneurs </span>by providing them with
<span style="color:black">direct feedback on their idea from staff or residents</span>
<span style="color:black">while </span>also<span style="color:black"> serving as a valuable use case for their products or service. “</span>In return for partnering with the start-ups, our organizations hope
<span style="color:black">to learn about new technologies and ideas that could improve the delivery of services or solve problems for our staffs</span>,<span style="color:black">” Chaparro said.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Participants will have the same access and opportunities in working with Durham County, said Michael Davis,
<span style="color:#201F1E">strategic initiative manager for Durham County. “As we continue to pursue new ideas and encourage organizational learning, Innovate Durham has been an exciting way for our departments to partner with companies,” said Davis. “We’re
thrilled that our local governments can collaborate again with entrepreneurs, allowing us to be learning labs across sectors.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">To apply for the Innovate Durham Program, an application form must be completed. Applicants will be evaluated on a variety of criteria and a select number will be invited to partner with the City and County
in this </span>16<span style="color:black">-week program. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">For more information or to submit an online application, visit the
</span><a href="https://durhamnc.gov/3165/Innovate-Durham">Innovate Durham webpage</a><span style="color:black"> or contact Strategy and Performance Analyst
</span>Darin Johnson with the City’s Budget and Management Services Department at
<a href="mailto:darin.johnson@durhamnc.gov">darin.johnson@durhamnc.gov</a>, or <span style="color:black">
ICMA Fellow Nathalie Floyd for the City and County of Durham </span>at <a href="mailto:nfloyd@dconc.gov">
nfloyd@dconc.gov</a><span style="color:black">. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black">###</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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