Open Data Competition Concludes at HQ Raleigh with $5,000 Prize

Economic Development, Education, Innovation

By Jason Hibbets

One of my passions is open source. Why, because I first came to know it as a better way to create software, but over the years, I’ve seen the principles of open source applied beyond technology. The open source way includes tenets like collaboration, participation, transparency, rapid prototyping, community, shared knowledge, and open exchange. When you add all those together, its not only the default way to create software today, I’ve seen these principles can be used in all aspects of our life. The open source way is a better way to run organizations, manage projects, run events, and more. I’m passionate about NC DataPalooza, because it’s helping our community understand the value of open data and proving how neighbors can come together to solve our own problems.

The 5th Annual NC DataPalooza open data competition concludes on November 13, 2017. The 3 finalists who made it out on top from All Things Open pitches will present to a panel of expert judges for a chance to win a $5,000 prize.

The purpose of the competition is to bring together coders, designers, entrepreneurs, the public, and government to create positive change in the community through the use of open data. The finale is a chance for the at-large community to celebrate the progress made by the competing teams, here from keynote speakers, and see the winners. Food and beverages will be provided.

After ideation during the kickoff event at CityCamp NC and 7 weeks of work to develop a minimum viable product and demo, three teams will compete at the NC DataPalooza finale.

Here are the teams who are pitching:

  • CivicRise: A smartphone app that sends users calls-to-action on social and political causes they support. Actions can include contacting legislators and other advocacy activities that can be completed on the mobile device.
  • Are We Represented?: Shed light on how represented our elected bodies are by comparing the demographics of local & state elected bodies with the demographics of the communities they represent.
  • mConnect “Connecting Communities”: A mobile app designed and created by a team of Triangle residents. For communities that must currently rely on multiple formats to get timely information to residents, mConnect provides a single stop solution on resident’s handheld devices.

Meet the speakers

We also have a great group of people speaking during the finale:

Tom Wilson (Keynote) – Tabula Rasa Health Care’s JRS Innovation Center

Executive vice president and chief technology innovation officer for New Jersey-based Tabula Rasa Health Care’s JRS Innovation Center that includes a coding school open to the Charleston community.

Nicole Raimundo – CIO Town of Cary

Chief Information Officer of Town of Cary, Nicole was recently awarded the North Carolina Technology Association’s 2016 Public Sector CIO of the Year Award. She is a passionate technology leader with both private and public sector experience.

Christopher Gergen – Founding Partner- HQ Raleigh

Co-founder of Forward Impact that develops an entrepreneurial working and living communities including HQ Raleigh, HQ Greensboro, Think House, and Duke TeachHouse. Christopher is also the founder of Forward Communities.

Register Now

 

Bio: Jason Hibbets is a senior community evangelist in Corporate Marketing at Red Hat where he is a community manager for Opensource.com. He has been with Red Hat since 2003 and is the author of The foundation for an open source city. He is a co-Chair for NC Open Pass, an event series that includes CityCamp NC and NC DataPalooza. Jason is also a Captain for the Code for Raleigh Brigade, part of the Code for America Brigade Network. Follow him on Twitter: @jhibbets.

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