These ideas were selected by our Idea Review Committee to advance to scoping sessions led by Social Contract for the chance to advance to the six-month development phase.

flyGATEWAY (Top Overall Idea of the Night)

flyGATEWAY will bring accelerated, affordable, innovative training to the Delaware Valley in partnership with local schools and airlines for the next generation of high-paying aerospace careers. The goal is to create an internationally acclaimed aerospace campus (both online and local) at the New Castle Airport, where students and veterans can be trained in any facet of aviation, making Delaware a go-to hub for aerospace employers.

Lights…Camera…Action – Delaware!

This idea will attract movie and TV productions to Delaware by making DE a strategic hub for the production of film. Delaware is close to other hubs of film, less expensive and already has most of the incorporated film companies. It will provide great training for support positions and tourism and will brings jobs to the state. With the right productions it will brand Delaware as an interesting and exciting place to live.

The “Real” Opportunity Zone Benefit

The Opportunity Zone program could have a major impact on the lives of Delawareans and improve the tax advantage of philanthropy for donors if properly utilized. Donations of earned capital gains can be materially leveraged to provide equity to families seeking to improve their economic futures via small business investment or purchase of a home. Many Delawareans do not have the family financial resources that will enable them to put a skill to work or better their housing situation. By using earned capital gains we can provide folks a Hand Up versus a Hand Out and provide donors better overall return for their financial resources. Donations are good but impact donations can be great.

360VR – Information Platform for Emergency Response

360VR has created a software platform that uses 3-D modeling to collect critical information about buildings that can be used for emergency response & planning and facility management. Our platform will revolutionize communication and information sharing between building owners, government, and private companies. By modeling important buildings throughout the state we will provide more information to first responders. But that information will not just be helpful for safety but for facility management and eventually internet of things management. We will be able to use smart devices and internet of things embedded within the building that can provide live monitoring and control capabilities to both building staff and first responders.

IFL Gaming – eSports for Economic and Workforce Development

IFL Gaming is a company that brings together esports enthusiasts to facilitate competitive and recreational gaming events and foster community while creating pathways to explore opportunities in STEM career fields ultimately impacting families and communities. Esports is a multibillion dollar annual industry that has the potential to attract global visibility and tourism to Delaware and provide alternative outlets for middle and high school students to channel gaming skills, increase social skill and explore coding, engineering, gaming theory, and other technological career paths.

NERDs Ending the Technological Divide! (NEDRiT NOW)

Through the use of retrofitted ambulances, unmanned kiosks, and teaching individuals from underserved communities how to be tech entrepreneurs, we will provide business opportunities and jobs to Delawareans, while donating hundreds of computers per year. We have an existing prototype kiosk, and have begun the process of evolving this into a business model MVP. We will use these kiosks to help us scale the company to more geographic exposure while avoiding high overhead costs associated with opening stores all over the state of Delaware. We will make a bold impact in Delaware in three areas. Our scale plan includes 40 new jobs for Delawareans in four years. This involves 10 franchises who will operate their own mobile office, team, and territory with ten kiosks.

Modular Home Factory

Create a friendly competition between Delaware high schools and their students to deliver the maximum impact on their local community causes. Put community engagement and work on a par with athletic achievement.

Non-chemical Alternative to Pesticides

An automated service that uses UV-C light as a non-chemical alternative to pesticides for treating pathogens on strawberry farms. This technology will reduce field labor, increase profitability/sustainability of Delaware farms, and bring technical robotics and data science jobs to Delaware.