Voting has begun in the city’s open-data contest, which is offering $50,000 in prize money to software developers who can make best use of public data to improve the lives of Ottawa residents.
The Apps4Ottawa Contest was launched by the city in late September as an effort to make it easier for people to find and take advantage of the city’s vast database.
“Open data ensures information is accessible to everyone,” says Guy Michaud, director of IT services and chief information officer for the City of Ottawa. “The data sets are licensed to be shared and modified into usable forms like apps and websites.”
He notes that as a result, there is greater transparency and accountability within the government, as well as more citizen involvement.
“We’ve already received more than 100 applications to the contest – that was double the expected amount,” says Michaud. “I don’t mean to gloat, but it has been the most popular app contest in North America.”
Imagine having access to bus times for the nearest stop or information on nearby attractions at the touch of the palm.
For open-data advocate Edward Ocampo-Gooding, it’s about time the city took hold of the many benefits offered by the policy. The 26-year-old web developer has been encouraging the city to adopt the open-data initiative since early last year.
“When I got the chance to speak at city hall, I started waving my hands and shouting, pointing out examples of how open data has already benefited other cities like Vancouver and Toronto,” says Ocampo-Gooding. “I think it caught their attention to hear it’d save them all sorts of money.”
Instead of hiring consultants, Ocampo-Gooding says the city saved money running a contest that will result in dozens of free apps. From there the city can extend contracts with those who developed the most useful and innovative apps.
So far the OttawaGuide app designed by Jacob Ekwa Duala-Ekoko has been the most popular with over 120 downloaded.
Using augmented reality technology, OttawaGuide displays information about locations and objects seen through a smartphone camera.
“Ottawa is a tourist destination, with over seven million visitors a year,” says Duala-Ekoko, a doctoral student in software engineering at McGill University. “The visitors are not just here to see but to learn about landmarks, restaurants, and stores.”
While noting the city is headed in the right direction in making data more accessible, Duala-Ekoko stresses the need for more work to be done.
“The information provided is still limited – it’s basically information you can already find on Google or Wikipedia,” says Duala-Ekoko. “I’d like to see the city take it a step further – they can provide figures on property taxes in a new neighbourhood, for example.”
In the meantime, open-data advocates like Duala-Ekoko and Ocampo-Gooding see the contest as an encouraging pilot project toward opening the platform of using public data to improve the quality of life for residents.