Participating in the Civic Data Challenge

We want the NCDD community to know about a great opportunity to participate in the 2013 Civic Data Challenge:

The Civic Data Challenge turns the raw data of ‘civic health’ into useful applications and visualizations that have direct impact on public decision-making. In order to achieve an exceptional level of real-world usefulness, designers, data scientists, researchers, and application developers will collaborate with local leaders and respond to the needs of specific communities or social issues… Through the Challenge, participants will bring new minds and skill sets to the field of civic health, with the purpose of making data-driven community insights more valuable and accessible. In order to achieve an exceptional level of real-world usefulness, designers, data scientists, researchers, and application developers will collaborate with local leaders and respond to the needs of specific communities or social issues.

The Challenge, which is presented by the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has three separate phases…

1. It begins with the “Ideation” phase, where participants will be brainstorming and sharing ideas on specific community needs that can be addressed through the use of civic data.
2. Then it will enter the “Creation” phase, where participants will collaborate with a community partner to actually create and submit an entry for the contest.
3. Finally, the “Implementation” phase will see participants actually piloting their projects in the community.

Winners of the Civic Data Challenge will be eligible for prizes that will be announced soon, but past prizes have included cash, conference passes, high-profile blog features, and access to data expertise and consulting services.

This innovative contest is open to all US citizens over the age of 13 and any private organization or company based in the US. To participate, you must join the Civic Data Challenge Google Group and make sure to submit your ideas before the deadline at 11:59pm Eastern on May 19th. Check out the Rules & Criteria page for more details on the competition. Good luck!

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