The goals of the Cooney Center Prizes for Innovation are to identify, inspire, nurture, and scale breakthrough ideas in children's digital media and learning. The program will annually award cash prizes and provide ongoing business planning support and mentorship to a new generation of children's media entrepreneurs and visionaries.

To date, the Cooney Center Prizes for Innovation has challenged innovators nationwide to submit applications in the following prize categories:

• 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge (Opens, Nov. 15, 2011)
  
• National STEM Video Game Challenge (Closed, Fall 2010)
• Breakthroughs in Mobile Learning (Closed, Spring 2010)
• Breakthroughs in Literacy Learning (Closed, Spring 2010)