Since its start in 2002, Chicago Innovation (formerly Chicago Innovation Awards) has grown from a single award ceremony to a year-long series of events and activities designed to celebrate innovation in the Chicago region, educate people and organizations about the principles of innovation, and forge relationships that strengthen companies, grow the economy, and create jobs. Its expansion has included formation of the Chicago Innovation Women Mentoring Co-op to support female innovators, a Corporate Startup Matchmaking program to connect large corporations with emerging start-ups, the Winners Connection to promote past Chicago Innovation Award winners year-round, an Innovation MBA in partnership with IIT that offers real-world experiential learning and $10,000 scholarships, the Chicago Neighborhood Awards to promote innovation in Chicago's diverse neighborhoods, and the Chicago Student Invention Convention to empower Chicago's youth to be innovators.The Chicago Innovation Awards shine a bright light on the creative spirit of Chicago by focusing attention on the most significant new products and services introduced in the region.The winners each year are innovations that uniquely fill unmet needs, spark a competitive response in the marketplace, exceed market expectations, achieve financial success, and improve people's lives. They emerge from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most importantly, the Chicago Innovation Awards remind us that innovation is thriving in America's heartland.