Apps for Democracy

Please Give Us Feedback About Apps for Democracy So We Can Improve It!

2008 November 19th
Comments

We’re currently in the brainstorming/introspection/reflection phase for what an Apps for Democracy v2.0 would look like. We created and launched the first one in a very short period of time and by no means got it exactly right in all areas. If we produce a second, what should we do differently? Please use the comments section below, or blog something and link to the post so we see it (or email peter [at] istrategylabs.com).

Should Apps for Democracy entries be open source?

Should we hold town hall style, physical or digital meetings to understand more deeply what citizens need built for them?

Should Apps for Democracy be national in focus? If so, what would the best data be to use?

Should we focus on specific sectors like education, security, health care?

Suggestions on prizes? Judging? Contest duration?

What else do you think we should be thinking about?

Any and all constructive criticism is welcome an appreciated. Thank you!

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6 comments to...
“Please Give Us Feedback About Apps for Democracy So We Can Improve It!”
Keith Bradner
November 19th, 2008

The biggest thing I thought was just boring data. Some of the winners came up with really innovative ideas but in general I just think the lack of interesting data was what made this more challenging then it needed to be. Coming from a facebook perspective one of the ideas I had was to link in to the arrests data and check to see if any of the user’s friends were in jail but it turned out you didn’t actually get the name in the data. There’s a ton of data there I just couldn’t see much of it being interesting at all besides the basic mapping applications that nearly everybody came up with.

Maybe a good idea would be some kind of channel for developers to request data streams in. It adds to the work on the city side but I think overall it would be worth it.


Dylan Greene
November 19th, 2008

@Keith - my guess is that making the data available costs the city money, plus added hosting, maintenance, and security costs. Contests like this one show the city how that people like us are interested in this data, how large the potential is for great uses of the data, and prove it would be good to share more data.

New app idea - “What DC data would you like to see?”


Chris Kennedy
November 19th, 2008

I was interested in the competition and would have liked to create a submission, but the contest was too close to Nov. 4th for a DC resident who does election work. Now that the elections are over I have much more free time to work on fun projects like this, so I wish the deadline could have been extended for another 1-2 months. But in any case, awesome contest.


Victoria Pickering
November 19th, 2008

How about having two categories for the next contest - one an “Open Innovation” category where the app could be anything, and a “Residents’ Request” category? The entrants for the Residents’ Request category would need to pick a specific existing local group (Ward Council, local non-profit, etc.) and meet with them to come up with a specific need that an app could address for the population served by that group, then develop an app based on those needs.


Zvi
November 20th, 2008

I would agree with the Keith and Dylan on somehow making better data available.

But going beyond that, I would remove the reliance on a particular data library, period. If the purpose is to create applications that can be of use to DC residents, who cares where the information is coming from?


ed whymandesign.com
November 20th, 2008

Hi Maybe they should all be not for profit or raise 100% Net funds for other innovative projects aka http://www.Traidmark.org.




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The District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) which is responsible for DC technology infrustructure and provides a Data Catalog, which provides real-time data from multiple agencies to citizens - a catalyst ensuring agencies operate as more responsive, better performing organizations. Apps for Democracy participants will compete to visualize this data in a manner that is most useful for all.

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iStrategyLabs is a digital agency focused on providing clients with interactive strategy, experiential marketing and content creation services. We've created Apps for Democracy to fulfill the DC Government's Office of the Chief Technology Officer's need for vizualizing their Data Catalog for the benefit of citizens, visitors and businesses of DC. We hope this model for technology innovation can be adopted by other municipalities in order to strengthen their own technology communities by developing open source solutions for the good of all. Please contact Peter Corbett, CEO, iStrategyLabs with any questions regarding this contest, or to run one in your city.

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