AWS launches first GovTech Accelerator to drive innovation in government

Across the United States, many 911 centers are running on legacy technology vulnerable to disaster-related outages, while others face staffing gaps as high as 50%. Courts and other justice and public safety organizations are targeted by a rising number of cyber events, as the digitization of paper workloads increases the amount of sensitive data requiring secure storage. These are only a handful of the challenges the justice and public safety industry is seeking to solve thorough innovative technology solutions.

To help government technology (GovTech) startups build solutions that enable government agencies to better serve their communities, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching its first AWS GovTech Accelerator. This inaugural program is now accepting applications from startups interested in leveraging cloud-based resources to accelerate innovation. AWS wants to help startups develop solutions that address the needs of government agencies, with the first cohort focused on justice and public safety organizations including courts, corrections, emergency services, and law enforcement. The AWS GovTech Accelerator’s goal is to support the development of technologies that can address challenges such as increasing community engagement, deterring crime, and reducing recidivism.

The AWS GovTech Accelerator includes both a four-week virtual program and in-person opportunities for technical and business mentorship for GovTech startups.

Applications open today and close Monday, July 10, 2023. The startups will be notified by Wednesday, August 9, 2023, and the program will kick off with an in-person event in Fall 2023.

Startups that are selected are eligible to receive an array of tools and opportunities to help create scalable solutions, including:

• Technical guidance to meet specialized public sector requirements
• Mentoring from justice and public safety industry leaders and technical subject matter experts
• Business development coaching
• Go-to-market guidance
• Investment guidance
• AWS Promotional Credit
• Potential proof-of-concept opportunities with justice and public safety organizations
• Collaboration opportunities with members of the AWS Partner Network (APN)

Who can apply to the AWS GovTech Accelerator

For the first cohort, AWS is looking for startups with a passion for justice and public safety. Eligible startups must seek to address challenges and deliver data-driven solutions that help improve outcomes in justice and public safety.

Additionally, applicants must:

• Have existing public sector customers and revenue
• Be able to demonstrate that they can use the AWS Cloud to solve justice and public safety challenges
• Be able to attend in-person events
• Be able to participate in live coaching and mentoring sessions

Applications to the AWS GovTech Accelerator are evaluated on several factors, including the solution’s innovative and unique nature to solve justice and public safety challenges, the applicant’s ability to deliver the AWS powered solution, creative uses of the AWS Cloud to develop the solution, and the overall value of the solution brings to government customers.

Learn more about the AWS GovTech Accelerator and apply now.

Discover how AWS helps reimagine and build digitally enabled justice and public safety services. Plus, learn more about getting support from AWS Public Safety and Disaster Response Competency Partners and the Justice and Public Safety Solutions in AWS Marketplace, trusted technology providers, and consulting experts that offer law enforcement, emergency services, and criminal justice agencies a wide variety of cloud-based solutions.

Read related stories on the AWS Public Sector Blog:

• How the City of Canton worked with Wi-Fiber to build a safer and more connected community
• Supporting 911 centers with non-emergency response solutions: An architecture guidance
• How Livingston Parish prepares for natural disasters by improving resiliency in the cloud
• How Carbyne’s cloud-native platform helps 911 call centers put eyes on the scene and more
• How the Norton Police Department saves time and money with AWS Public Sector Partner SOMA Global

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