Pivotal weekend for open data in Hamilton

 

When: Friday November 21st – Sunday November 23rd

Where: McMaster Innovation Park – 175 Longwood Road South Hamilton, Ontario

Register: eventbrite.com/e/open-data-jam-2014-odjam2014-tickets-13848426015

 

Open Data Jam 2014 is happening this weekend at McMaster Innovation Park. I think it’s a pivotal weekend for open data in Hamilton!

 

Quick history

Since early 2011 open data advocates in the city have been pushing the City of Hamilton to release open data. The initial data sets released were static geographic data – fire stations, ward boundaries, railways, parking lots, etc. The type of data that while great to have released, admittedly does not make for particularly exciting or dynamic open data applications.

In the summer of 2014 the HSR real-time data was released for the first time and Open Hamilton held a very successful hackathon. HSR real-time data regarding bus locations is probably the holy grail of Hamilton open data. Everyday in Hamilton tens of thousands of people are waiting outside bus stops, smart phone in hand. If ever there was a chance to engage the general public in open data, HSR real-time data applications would be it.

Open Data Jam 2014 was planned when Microsoft Canada approached Open Hamilton about running another open data hackathon. Microsoft has actually been a champion for open data, and has supported similar hackathons in Toronto and elsewhere. The Friday afternoon portion of the event offers an opportunity to hear talks about open data, citizen engagement, city planning, open data app success stories and more. The Saturday and Sunday portion of the event offers an opportunity to build open data applications using the publicly accessible data.

 

Why Open Data Jam 2014 matters

I think the event is pivotal for two reasons:

1) The City of Hamilton is showing up. Jay Adams from the City of Hamilton will be there on Friday afternoon. If you want to show that open data is important to you and talk about why, this is the time.

2) We really need a killer app for open data in Hamilton. The real-time HSR data has been released since July. But as best as I can tell, the most widely used application for accessing this data is still the web app released by the HSR. A “when is my bus coming” smartphone app using the smartphone’s GPS data and the real-time HSR data could be hugely important.

 

If there’s two things I’m hoping that come out of this event, it’s 1) a publicly accessible killer app, 2) an open data group that is focused on continuing to improve on existing apps and create future open data apps.

As much as the City of Hamilton has been slow to adopt open data, if people want the city to continue to release open data, I really feel that could be best encouraged by creating strong, widely used apps (and a continuous follow-through effort to create more).

 

Agenda

#ODJAM2014 is a 3-day event bringing together government, developers and citizens to collaborate and accelerate Open Data efforts in Hamilton.

Governments and organizations have become some of our largest data collectors and the resource is often resting in silos untouched. Open Data is taking this valuable resource and giving it to people who can unlock its value — resulting in new economies, job creation and increased efficiencies in public services.

Friday, November 21, 2014 (1:00-5:00pm)

1:00pm-1:30pm: Registration

1:30pm-2:00pm: Defining Open Data and Open Government

Richard Pietro (Co-Founder of CitizenBridge and Open Government Tour 2014)

Learn about the differences between open data and open government. Prepare yourself for upcoming conversations from thought leaders and experts in openness.

2:00pm-3:00pm: Expert panel on culture change required to be open

Moderator: Richard Pietro (Co-Founder of CitizenBridge and Open Government Tour 2014)

Panelists: David Wrate (Open Data BC), David Rauch (Open Data Edmonton), Renee Higgins (Open Data Sudbury), Sameer Vasta (MaRS Data Catalyst)

Panel discussion to cover how open data is being implemented in other cities and jurisdictions. Get perspectives from within government and citizens collaborating to improve their local area.

3:00pm-3:20pm: Networking Break

3:20pm-3:35pm: Just Go To The Blog! Save time and improve internal communication with Open Data.

Lauren Archer (LRA Heritage Consultant and former City of Toronto Heritage Planner)

Lauren is a heritage planner, writer, and maker. She has worked for municipalities of Toronto, Vaughan, Oakville, and Peterborough. She is into old home restoration and sustainability, online public consultation, self-directed learning, bees (highly productive community gatherings), maps, and open data.

3:35pm-3:50pm: Better Engagement, Better City Planning

Daniel Fusca (City of Toronto Planning Division)

Daniel is the Stakeholder Engagement Lead for the City of Toronto Planning Division, working out of the Office of the Chief Planner. He is currently managing the Division’s Growing Conversations initiative to improve the planning process through better engagement. Daniel is motivated by a desire to achieve greater openness and accountability in municipal government. To that end, he was instrumental in the launch of IdeaSpaceTO, Toronto’s new online ideas manager, and is working on the development of a new Open Data Framework for the Planning Division. Daniel is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Master of Science in Planning program.

3:50pm-4:05pm: The BikeFinder Story

Jennifer Shen and Ankita Kulkarni, BikeFinder (Winners of Toronto BikeShare Hackathon 2014)

Bike Finder is an SMS service designed for Bike Share Toronto which delivers real time information about station locations and bike availability. Text an intersection to 647-559-0509 to receive up-to-the-minute results for bicycle and dock availability at your nearest Bike Share station!

4:05pm-4:20pm: Inside Job: Why OpenGov and OpenData Matter for Public Servants

Ashleigh Weeden (Grey County Community Engagement, Connected County Initiative)

Ashleigh Weeden is an award-winning community engagement practitioner and communicator who enjoys taking the lid off local government so everyone can play inside City Hall. She’s currently working on Grey County’s Connected County initiative, building a collaborative community partnership to leverage broadband connectivity for sustainable economic and community development. As a public service evangelist, Ashleigh has proudly worked for the City of London, the Region of Waterloo, the Centre for Non Profit Management, and the Government of British Columbia.4:20pm-4:35pm A pledge for community and city to work collaboratively

Anand Sinha, Matt Grande, Open Hamilton

4:35pm-5:00pm: Open Data in Hamilton
Jay Adams, City of Hamilton
City of Hamilton takes a look into the service and business implications with Open Data – a winning scenario for everyone.

Open Hamilton Jam Time! Pitches, building solutions, workshops…

Starts: Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 9:00am

Ends: Sunday, November 23, 2014 at 4:00pm

Together with McMaster Innovation Park, Innovation Factory, The City of Hamilton, and Microsoft, Open Hamilton is calling all developers, designers and problem-solvers to Open Data Jam 2014!!  A chance to work with civic-minded developers to create compelling applications using Hamilton’s Open Data.  Hear about local success stories! Have a chance in determining how the City of Hamilton creates open-data sets, and help prioritize the next sets of open data. Collaborate with other developers, and city officials to create applications that make a difference in our daily lives!

Be a part of the Open Data/Open Government movement in Hamilton.  Help make collaboration and co-operation a key cog in the economic growth of Hamiltonians.