Redlands, California—Esri, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), and MindMixer will host a hackathon at the 99th Annual ICMA Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, called Hackstock for #LocalGov. The event, which takes place Sunday, September 22, 2013, from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Hynes Convention Center, is designed to improve government services to citizens through the creation of apps.
"This year’s hackathon was inspired by a series of Esri/ICMA meetings and activities in which government executives discussed the potential apps they believed could improve civic engagement," says Christopher Thomas, director of government markets at Esri. "Excited with the opportunity to provide direct feedback to the civic hacking community, ICMA and Esri envisioned that Hackstock for #LocalGov will lead to solutions for local governments’ most pressing issues."
Esri, ICMA, and MindMixer encourage developers, coders, and students in the New England area to participate in Hackstock for #LocalGov. ICMA’s government members have agreed to provide sample datasets to fuel the day’s hacking activities. Esri staff will create portals in ArcGIS Online for participants to access in addition to providing free mobile software development kits (SDKs) and application program interfaces (APIs) for creating maps for iOS and Android. Food and beverages will also be provided.
MindMixer and Esri have provided prize money for the winning apps. A grand prize of $2,000, first prize of $1,500, second prize of $750, and third prize of $250 will be awarded to the four best entries.
Judging criteria for Hackstock for #LocalGov are the following:
- Thoughtful use of civic data
- Quality of concept
- Analysis of community need
- Collaboration with local government leaders
Because Esri products are deeply integrated in governments, special consideration will be given to entries that incorporate Esri tools and data.
An online orientation webinar for the hackathon participants will be held on Saturday, September 21, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Details on how to sign up for the webinar and the hackathon can be found at esriurl.com/hackstock.