Goals of the Chicago Innovation Awards: |
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| The Chicago Innovation Awards continues to shine a bright light on the creative spirit of Chicago. We focus attention on the most significant new products and services, regardless of sector or industry, introduced in the region. | We believe innovation is a process that can be taught and learned. Our partners and community of past winners provide the knowledge transfer and intellectual capital needed to help today’s innovators turn their ideas into multi-million dollar companies and successful models. | By connecting today’s innovators with the people and resources required to bring their innovation to scale, we lay the groundwork for relationships that enable these companies to grow in Chicago. We’ve seen this build stronger companies and lead to economic impact and job creation for our region. |
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A Year-round Series of Events
Established in 2002, the Chicago Innovation Awards shine a bright light on the creative spirit of Chicago by focusing attention on the most significant new products and services introduced in the region. The ten winners each year are innovations that uniquely fill unmet needs, spark a competitive response in the marketplace, exceed market expectations, achieve financial success, and improve people’s lives. They emerge from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most importantly, the Chicago Innovation Awards remind us that innovation is thriving in America’s heartland.
The Chicago Innovation Awards has grown to be much more than just an award ceremony. Through many events over the course of the year, the Chicago Innovation Awards not only recognize nominees and winners, but also provide valuable connections through business networking and development opportunities, as well as teaching on best innovation practices through mentoring, scholarship, panel discussions, and education courses.
“This initiative has helped bring important benefits to the hardworking people of our city and we very much appreciate this recognition of our efforts”
- Mayor Richard M. Daley
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Kick-Off Cocktail Reception
1871 May 23rd Announcing the start of the annual Chicago Innovation Awards event season, friends and guests come together for an insider’s look at the year ahead. |
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Past Winners Showcase
Red Frog Events June 14th Celebrating the rich history of Chicago innovation, a special panel is assembled featuring some of the most successful past winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards. |
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Media, Capital, and Strategy Day
Museum of Broadcast Communications August 13th Featuring talks by experts to help Chicago innovators navigate the challenges of launching a new product or service. |
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Nominee Reception
House of Blues Chicago September 5th To recognize Chicago’s innovators, all of the year’s nominees are honored. 409 organizations were celebrated at the House of Blues in 2011.
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The Practical Innovator
Kellogg School of Management September A day-long executive education course that teaches the practical skills of innovation to the top 75 nominees.
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Chicago Innovation Awards Ceremony
The Harris Theater October 22nd On October 22nd, the Chicago Innovation Awards will ceberate the creative spirit of the Chicago region by honoring our most innovative new products and services. 1400 people are invited to attend this annual celebration at Chicago’s Harris Theatre. |
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Ringing the Opening NASDAQ BellTimes Square, NYC
November The winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards rang the opening NASDAQ bell in New York City to celebrate their achievement on a global stage, thanks to an invitation from TechAmerica.
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Past Winner Panels throughout the year
Throughout the year, the Chicago Innovation Awards presents a variety of panel discussions and co-hosted events with organizations such as the Executives’ Club of Chicago, SIM Chicago, the Business Marketing Association, and many others. |
A Growing Community of Innovation
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The Up-and-Comer Award
This honor is given to innovators and entrepreneurs that are in an earlier stage of growth, yet demonstrate significant potential. The top 10 Up-and-Comer’s will be given the opportunity to participate in the Chicago Innovation Awards Venture Capital Pitch Day to a room full of investors looking to invest in Chicago’s most promising new start-ups. Companies can apply through our nomination form. To be eligible, the company must have achieved than $2 million in revenue. |
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The People’s Choice Award
Through a widespread outdoor advertising, print and social media campaign, we ask everyone in Chicago to vote for their favorite new innovation. After the judges have determined the top 75 nominees, these companies are presented to the public for voting. |
 Available November 8th |
Celebrating Our Past Winners
The 90 past winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards have accomplished a lot in the last decade. This year, we will be re-celebrating all of our past winners and the achievements they have made in the upcoming book Innovating… Chicago-Style, to be released in November 2011. |
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Innovation Scholarships
The Chicago Innovation Awards Scholarship Fund gives scholarships to young innovators at various stages of development: high school, college and graduate school. Please contact us if you’d like to donate to the scholarship fund. |
Why Celebrate Innovation?
There is nothing quite like the returns that a successful new product or service can bring straight to the bottom line of an organization. It is especially important in times like these, when there may be more pressure to hunker down than to reach out. The challenge is how to tap the potential of innovation in ways that yield reliable, predictable, and substantial returns year in and year out.
Innovation can be the key to success in a turbulent economy
- Tom Kuczmarski, Senior Partner
Kuczmarski & Associates
What is Innovation?
Successful new products or services are seldom the result of a “eureka” moment; but rather the result of a systematic process that is rooted in identifying customer needs and meeting them in creative ways. It flows from an innovation mindset that can be found throughout a successful organization.
The Chicago Innovation Awards recognize not just the products and services that are the end result of innovation, but the creative spirit that led to them. It is a spirit found in abundance in the Chicago region. It lies at the heart of this region’s vibrant and varied economy. It is found in for-profit, not-for-profit, and governmental organizations.
History of the Chicago Innovation Awards
It is important to recognize and encourage innovation. For that reason, Thomas D. Kuczmarski, founder of the innovation consulting firm Kuczmarski & Associates and prominent local journalist Dan Miller, established the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2002.
From the first year when there were only a handful of entries to the present day, with hundreds of nominations and an awards ceremony at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, the Chicago Innovation Awards have emerged as the major annual recognition and celebration of innovation in the Chicago region. From 2006 to 2011, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley invited the winners to his City Hall Office for a conversation about how to advance innovation in the city. The 2012 Chicago Innovation Awards winners will have a round table discussion with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
