'Hackathon' Wants You to Create Apps with Government Data

What government information do you need, and in what format do you need it? That's what participants in Montgomery County's "Hackaton" will try to answer on the National Day of Civic Hacking. 

The county event will be held Saturday and Sunday, bringing together county residents to "get involved and improve community life" by developing new smart phone apps, according to a release from the county government.

County staffers will pitch participants a few government problems and potential solutions. Participants can pitch a few of their own challenges, too. The most interesting topics will be selected for development. Teams will form around each idea (some ideas may have multiple teams) and groups will get to work thinking of how an app could help the public. 

You don't have to know how to develop apps to participate, organizers said, and folks from across the spectrum—artists, scientists, educators, students and community members—are welcome to show up. There will be free food.

Each team will be judged on their ideas at the end of the second day.

To register for the Montgomery County Hack for Change Hackathon, go to the eventstir page.

For more on the National Day of Civic Hacking, click here.