[open-government] Fwd: Open Gov West: Conference & Cross-government Apps Contest

Thu Apr 21 21:31:12 UTC 2011

Hi all,

Organizers for the Open Gov West conference have announced a
cross-government apps contest during our conference in Portland on May 13th
and 14th.

We have some travel scholarships available to developers who wish to
participate, so please check out the Open Gov West (
http://www.opengovwest.org/events/conference/opengovwest-11/) for more
information.

See below for a description of the contest, and do not hesitate to get in
touch with me if you have any questions about any part of the conference,
the unconference or the contest.

Best,

Karen Fung
karen at countablyinfinite.ca
OGW Volunteer Conference Convener

***

 Open Gov West announces its first Cross-Gov Apps Contest, in Portland Ore.
May 14, 2011.

The Cross-Gov Apps Contest represents the first effort to get government
data providers from Canada and the US to share data and expertise through
one apps competition event. The goal is to see apps developed that utilize
two or more government’s data, or scale across at least two governments.

“The State of Oregon is making great strides in making public data
accessible, interactive and social,” said Wally Rogers, Oregon E-Government
Manager. “We all share the desire to listen and learn from each other,
reduce the cost of delivering services, make public data hugely accessible
and take advantage of the enormous leverage given to us by the Internet and
mobile technology. Through this openness around information, we build trust,
partnerships, save costs, and evolve faster.”

Participating governments are coming together from across the Pacific
Northwest, including the City of Portland, the State of Oregon, the City of
Seattle, King County and informally the State of Washington. Partnerships
with Canadian provincial and municipal governments are also underway. Each
government will send representatives from its own data.gov sites, to offer
developers advice and support.

“We’re excited to partner with other government agencies and the local
development community to help produce applications that can better serve
residents in our region,” said Bill Kehoe, Chief Information Officer for
King County Government.

The apps competition will run in the style of a code-a-thon, in which
development begins at 9 a.m. with a 7 p.m. deadline, and winners are
announced that evening. Sponsors including Tropo and Socrata are providing
prizes like iPads, marketing assistance for developers, and technology prize
packages. *Tropo is also providing $1,000 in developer scholarships* (apply
below) and *free development kits for participants*, including, in a first,
*free development tools for Canadian developers*. Developers are encouraged
to enter the contest and apply for scholarships at

Tropo is a cloud communication platform that enables developers to quickly
add mobile and social networking functionality to their applications.
Socrata is the leading developer and provider of Open Data Services, a
category of cloud-based Web 2.0 solutions that enable federal, state, and
local governments to improve the reach, usability and social utility of
their public information assets.
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