Code Maadi to make it ‘H-App-en’ - Mobile tech for better governance
Are you someone who's always felt the government could do a lot more if it used cutting-edge technology? Here's your chance to make a difference. If you are a techie in the mobile apps space and are clued into the problems currently facing society – and those that can be alleviated with a technical fix – take part in the Appathon organized by the Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka, alongside Mobile 10X (an IAMAI initiative).
There's clearly a lot happening in technology and various state government departments want to discover and embrace these potential solutions that address a myriad of issues facing the people of the state. To this end, the state government and Mobile 10X are organizing a 'crowd sourcing' initiative to get the brightest minds in technology come up with innovative, cutting-edge solutions for a shortlisted set of five key challenges prevalent in the country today.
So what are they looking for
- Innovative ideas to introduce new G2C services or improve efficacy of existing services.
- Utilise the reach and always-in-hand mobile facility to improve upon the existing web based G2C interactions.
- Understand the existing working of the relevant departments (which are in public domain) to avoid duplication of solutions and easy adoption with existing web services.
- A large number of socially conscious citizens are interested to contribute in solving governance problems.Citizens should see this solution as his/her own handy tool to be a part of the process in improving the system.
- The ease of use and instant connect with the actions taken should encourage the citizens to spread the word and include more people in the system.
- The system should be able to intelligently detect fraud/ incorrect complaints.
- Utilise latest mobile tech components to enhance solutions
The themes being addressed are:
- Engage, Inform & Educate the Job Seeker (Department of Employment & Training),
- Clean Cities for Swachh Bharat (Department of Municipal Administration),
- Easy Reporting & Verification of Accident FIR (Department of Urban Land Transport),
- Make Karnataka a Child Labor Free zone (Department of Labor), and
- Easy Complaints Reporting and Redressal System (Department of Municipal Administration).
What do you have to do?
Your solution must be an innovative, easy-to-apply idea to introduce new Government2Consumer (G2C) services or optimize existing ones. It must improve mobile access/facility within web-based G2C interactions to present solutions that make the most of existing government initiatives, rather than introduce new ones.
Your solution must be a tool that taken up by socially aware citizens to drive reforms and be the app that can detect fraud and incorrect complaints at the push of a button. They are necessarily expected to use the front running developments within technology in addressing these challenges, which have been identified as Location based Services, Heat maps, Geo-tagged photos, Mobile based registrations and Push services.
This Hackathon will coincide with conduct of India’s flagship event in the Technology Space ITE.Biz in Bangalore on 9th and 10th December 2015, as part of India's flagship event in the technology space, ITE Biz, Bangalore, over 8th-10th December 2015.
Whats in it for you?
As a participant, you get to interact with the best minds in the technology space, indulge in some exciting competition matching your tech-wits against fellow techies, and be judged by a jury comprising of stalwarts in the corporate and government sectors. The audience is expected to be a mix of technology enthusiasts, venture funds, recruiters and senior government officials from across the country.
The selection procedure is thorough, with shortlisting of 25 app developer teams based on a first level of screening basis submitted prototypes (can be sent through any mobile platform) to be sent till 3rd December 2015. Shortlisted participants will then get to apply their hacking skills in an intense, 8-hour challenge on 9th December 2015 at the Lalit Ashok Hotel in Bengaluru, culminating in a pitch at the grand finale on 10th December 2015.
Entries will be judged based on their inventiveness, attention to detail, and the depth and applicability of their solutions. The winning solution stands to win INR 3.5 lakh. Winners get an opportunity to closely work with the Government to take the winning ideas to a pilot.
The chance to use your talents to serve the people is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
