[open-government] How to make apps contests more sustainable?

[Julian Tait]

Hi,

We are organising a series of hack type events with local government organisations as part of the ongoing Open Data Cities initiative that we are running in Manchester. This ties in with the Apps4Europe initiative that has been mentioned earlier.

For our part the apps style contest is an essential part in creating awareness and capacity around new fields, whether this be open data, internet of things, smart cities, etc. These spaces are yet unproven in the commercial domain and suffer a degree of market failure yet offer the huge potential that we are all aware of. As mentioned previously these type of events do need to be seen to be part of a bigger programme of work. With Open Data Cities it is about the creation of a sustainable Open Data Ecology within our local region (Greater Manchester), which links local government and public bodies with the regional datastore, local press, educational establishments, digital businesses and civil society. The Sunlight Foundation did a great graphic, a kind of virtuous circle for open data, which illustrates how different elements fit together and reinforce each other; the hack event is part of pump priming this process of supply and demand on all sides of this circle.

Within Greater Manchester we see these type of events as part of a wider economic push to develop and retain skills within the region making it a more attractive place for digital businesses that create data products. We can't do this in isolation and so we are trying to key this into a wider regional/national network of initiatives and support.

Cheers

Julian