COH open Innovation Hackathon

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City of Houston Open Innovation Hackathon and Open Data Initiative
Technology Experts and Recreational Techies 
Invited to Help Solve City-Resident Issues, May 17 - May 18, 2013

The City of Houston will host a 24-hour "Open Innovation Hackathon" on Friday, May 17, beginning at 7 p.m. - Saturday, May 18, ending at 7 p.m. Bring your ideas and expertise and come on down.

The event will kick-off on Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m. and continue until 7 a.m. at Start Houston, 1121 Delano Street, Houston 77003. On Saturday, May 18, from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. the event will be held at the Houston Technology Center, 410 Pierce Street, Houston 77002.

A hackathon is a day-long event in which software developers, web designers and data analysts collaborate intensively on data and software projects. Over 24 hours, Houston's "civic hackers" will pitch ideas, form teams and develop innovative new websites, mobile apps and insightful data visualizations to address community and city problems.

The Houston Open Data Initiative, is a program that puts public city data in the hands of citizens. The open data originating from dozens of city systems will be critical for the civic hackers in using technology to build tech solutions that solve city problems.

While Houston's Open Data Initiative is modeled after programs in Austin, New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto, California, Houston will also include a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educational outreach component designed to teach children across the city about career options.

The city encourages a strong turnout from citizens, corporate participants and members of Houston's technology communities. There are already 15 teams and over 50 additional individuals registered.

Further details about the City of Houston Open Innovation Hackathon, as well as registration information, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/.

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Budget Bootcamp:  First City of Houston Hackathon Project Implemented

Budget Bootcamp, a new city website application that provides easy access to city budget information, is the first Houston Hackathon project to become reality.  Budget Bootcamp is hosted on the Finance Department's website and provides citizens an educational walkthrough of the City's budget data - both for the recently adopted Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) Budget, as well as all adopted budgets since Fiscal Year 2010.

Budget Bootcamp has something for every budget policy-wonk. Whether you want to break down the city's revenues for FY14, see the trends over time or see how the city's taxpayer-supported General Fund transforms from revenues into department expenditures, this application is a terrific step in terms of financial education and transparency.

The City of Houston hosted a 24 hour Open Innovation Hackathon on May 17-18, 2013, which offered software developers, designers and data analysts to collaborate on data and software projects. Over 24 hours, Houston 's "civic hackers" pitched ideas, formed teams and developed innovative new websites, mobile apps and insightful data visualizations to address community and City problems.

The City is expecting to implement a handful of additional Hackathon projects in the coming months, as well as continuing to invest in the Houston Data Portal that was set up for the Hackathon.

For further details about the City of Houston Open Innovation Hackathon event, visit http://www.houstonhackathon.com/ or contact Bruce Haupt at Bruce.Haupt@houstontx.gov.