KC Tech Council Wins Two National Awards at 2026 TECNA Innovation Awards

KC TechBridge coalition and data center legislation recognized as top efforts in the country among technology councils

KC Tech Council (KCTC) was honored with two awards at the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) Innovation Awards, presented July 21st at the annual TECNA Summer Conference in Philadelphia. KCTC received the Creative Marketing and Communications Award for KC TechBridge, its employer-led regional talent initiative, and the Public Policy Advocacy Award for its work securing passage of Kansas Senate Bill 98, a statewide data center tax incentive.

TECNA’s Innovation Awards recognize the strongest work happening across technology councils in the United States and Canada, spanning marketing, policy, programming and membership services.

Building the Coalition the Region Was Missing

KC TechBridge set out to solve a problem no single training program could fix: a Kansas City tech talent market fragmented across hundreds of employers, dozens of education and training providers, and thousands of individuals navigating careers without a clear map. Rather than launch another program, KCTC and its backbone partner, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, built a coalition large enough to reflect the full market and trusted enough to move from shared insight to coordinated action. The goal is direct: fill 100% of Kansas City’s tech jobs with locally cultivated talent.

The results came fast. From a 75-person invite list in February 2025, KC TechBridge grew its opted-in network to nearly 1,500 stakeholders in nine months, an almost 1,800% increase spanning employers, educators, training partners, talent, community leaders and government. Cross-sector coalitions of this scale typically take two to three years to reach operational maturity. KC TechBridge got there in nine months.

That growth was driven by a communications strategy built around trust. Twenty-eight email sends averaged a 67% open rate and 13% click-through rate, both well above industry benchmarks. Eight coalition gatherings, from kickoff events to focus groups, were designed for psychological safety and balanced participation. KC TechBridge also carried the work to 12 large-scale civic stages, including TeamKC, Great Jobs KC, the Greater KC Chamber and the Mid-America Regional Council, while earned and social media generated 21 pieces of coverage and a combined audience reach of more than six million.

The coalition itself reflects the market it is trying to change. Anchor employers like American Century Investments, H&R Block, Google, T-Mobile and Microsoft sit alongside the small and mid-size firms that drive most of the region’s tech hiring. Four-year universities, community colleges and training providers including the University of Kansas, Johnson County Community College, Per Scholas and i.c.stars joined civic and ecosystem partners across the metro, all carrying equal voice at the table.

Turning Legislation Into a Market Advantage

KCTC’s second award recognizes its role in passing Senate Bill 98, a Kansas sales tax exemption for qualifying data center investments signed into law by Governor Laura Kelly in May 2025. The bill positions Kansas to compete directly for the kind of large-scale digital infrastructure projects that are reshaping regional economies across the country.

The win reflects more than a legislative victory. KCTC identified the shift toward data center investment as a market trend early, aligned public and private stakeholders around the opportunity, and helped deliver a policy outcome with direct, measurable economic development impact for the region. SB 98 opened the door for Kansas to compete for transformative digital infrastructure projects that might otherwise have gone elsewhere.

A Reflection of Where KCTC Is Headed

Together, the two awards capture the range of KCTC’s work: building the coalition that can align the region’s talent market and expanding its capacity to compete for investment and opportunity. Both wins had milestones in 2025, a year that also saw KCTC deepen its programming, advocacy and member engagement across the bistate area.

KC Tech Council has continued building on both efforts in 2026, including deeper coalition engagement through KC TechBridge and continued advocacy on data center and digital infrastructure policy at the state level.