GOVHACK returned to the Limestone Coast for the sixth time recently, with the 46-hour competition held at Mount Gambier Library.
Participants were required to develop a concept to make open data accessible to the public.
With thousands of underutilised data sets at their fingertips competitors spent time coming up with ways to promote the information.
This year Mount Gambier had three adult teams competing to produce four unique concepts and eight youth teams submitting nine entries.
“Our teams came up with some great ideas including an app promoting mountain bike trails that records and rates your ride, an electronic bollard that communicates with disabled permit holders to prevent parking spaces being used by non-permit holders and one team even created a song about convicts with the lyrics reciting historical data,” Mount Gambier Library youth services coordinator Terasa Nearmy said.
“Competitors are encouraged to assist each other in various ways throughout the weekend whether it be making sure everyone has had enough to eat and drink or helping another team with their sound recording.”
Event organisers kept track of these efforts and announced the Spirit of GovHack award at the conclusion of the weekend.
Mercedes Scott was announced as the first winner for helping teams when she noticed them struggling.
Jordan Hutchins was the second Spirit of GovHack award recipient, recognised for his efforts supporting many teams during the competition.
At the end of the weekend each team pitched their ideas and concepts in a three-minute video to be judged at local, state and national levels in the coming months.
Visit www.govhack.org to view completed videos and vote for the people’s choice winner.
