The Department for Business and Trade, Challenge Works, and the Open Data Institute have announced the launch of the Smart Data Challenge with a prize fund of £600,000.
The competition aims to reward the most innovative apps and technologies in the data and innovation sector, with a focus on areas such as financial services, energy, retail, transport, and home buying.
Justin Madders, minister for employment rights, competition, and markets, expressed his support for the challenge, stating that smart data has the potential to drive innovation and economic growth across the country.
The government hopes to replicate the success of open banking in other sectors by leveraging smart data to improve consumer services and boost the economy.
The challenge sponsors have identified a lack of real-world smart data as a key challenge for data technologists. Successful teams will receive access to a smart data sandbox to test and develop their ideas.
The competition aims to promote cross-sector technologies that benefit consumers and small to medium-sized enterprises, ultimately driving economic growth.
The smart data sandbox contains synthetic data from multiple datasets across various domains, including banking, insurance, investing, property, energy, and retail.
The Smart Data Challenge Prize is … calling on diverse innovators from across industry, academia, and civil society to enter their smart data solutions that will make people’s lives better and easier
Holly Jamieson, Challenge Works
Holly Jamieson, executive director of Challenge Works, emphasized the importance of open innovation in the Smart Data Challenge Prize, inviting innovators from various sectors to participate.
Louise Burke, CEO of the Open Data Institute, highlighted the need for high-quality, secure data to support smart data innovators in developing prototype solutions.
The Smart Data Challenge Prize builds on the success of the Smart Data Discovery Challenge, with winners announced in March 2024.
The competition aims to address key challenges such as the cost of living, clean power transition, access to services, SME competitiveness, and support for vulnerable customers.
Finalists of the Smart Data Challenge Prize will receive seed funding, mentoring, and access to the sandbox, with the overall winner receiving £50,000.
Through the competition, the government aims to gain insights into tested use cases across various sectors and identify barriers to development.
Entries for the Smart Data Challenge Prize must be UK-led, with a closing date of 14 March 2025.
