NIST PSCR Tech to Protect Challenge

NIST PSCR CommanDING Tech Challenge

Funds innovators and companies developing incident command dashboard technology for public safety through a NIST PSCR open innovation prize competition.

Eligibility · United States (primary); international participants permitted per PSCR program scope

The NIST Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division administers the CommanDING Tech Challenge as part of its Open Innovation Prize Challenges program. PSCR is a division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology within the U.S. Department of Commerce, and is the primary federal laboratory for public safety communications technology R&D.

The CommanDING Tech (Command Dashboard Integrating Next Gen Technology) Challenge offered up to $1,000,000 in cash prizes. Prizes were awarded directly to winning teams at the conclusion of the competition. No equity is taken, and no IP rights are claimed by NIST. Prize competitions are non-dilutive — winners keep their IP and product rights.

Eligibility was broad: innovators, companies, entrepreneurs, engineers, software developers, and domain experts could compete directly. Private and public entities providing communications products or services were explicitly welcomed. The challenge invited participants to develop or improve an incident command dashboard that advances public safety response through better UX and data connectivity.

The challenge ran a staged competition format, with contestants evaluated on their ability to build functional solutions. Winners were announced after a final competition event. NIST PSCR does not claim IP rights from challenge participants.

The CommanDING Tech Challenge ran in 2022 and is now closed. NIST PSCR continues to assess future prize challenge opportunities and will announce new competitions on Challenge.gov and the PSCR website when available.