The Colorado Challenge Accelerator Program works to transform the community’s real-world challenge into an opportunity for growth and impactful change by identifying solutions, establishing a tangible action plan including a financing approach, and identifying a team of community partners ready to implement the plan of action.
The program includes five phases of planning and development that helps Colorado communities establish a plan for community-wide initiatives to foster sustainable community and economic development. This involves public, private, and non-profit partners moving forward to establish their community as a business-friendly destination for entrepreneurs and community initiatives. The phases include:
DCI's Colorado Challenge Program is open to DCI members. 4-5 communities are selected annually for the program.
If you are interested in participating, please submit your application of interest here.
It was my first time and by participating in the Center Studio Workshop, I saw the immense amount of expertise all of the attendees brought to the table to learn and glean from. It was invaluable. I also loved being able to learn about local projects and gain lessons learned for my part of the state." – Jeff Owsley, Community Relations – San Luis Valley, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority
"We had a challenge studio at the In the Games conference and for the first time collaborated with our neighboring communities of Silverton and Ouray. You can try to do a lot over phone calls and emails, but there is nothing like working on a project in one room together. The addition of conference attendees from across the state helped to provide insight into our challenges and ways to refine our project with an outside lens. As a result, our three communities are working together to pursue grants at a state and national level for our region." -Kiki Hooten, Local First La Plata
Since its creation in 2017, the Colorado Challenge Accelerator Program has worked with a diverse mix of 34 Colorado communities to consider solutions around housing, small business support, tourism development, local engagement, brownfield clean-up, financing, and more.
We are excited to continue to work with the creative problem-solving power of Colorado’s network dedicated to helping these communities.
