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EPA Shows How Government Wants to Engage with Tech Community
No comments · Posted by Robin Bectel in business, events, green tech
Yesterday’s #DCWeek Apps for the Environment was a great example of the new way government is interacting with the technology community. EPA held a contest for app developers to use publicly available EPA and other government data to create environmental apps. What was different from other initiatives and contests, according to several panelists and winners was that the EPA came out to meetups and engaged directly with the developers about the initiative this summer. Previously, there would have been a much more formal roll out.
This shift in approach has been slowly coming. It started with efforts like data.
gov and is being spearheaded now by the first Federal CTO, Aneesh Chopra. Chopra spoke at the event as well and his enthusiasm for working directly with the tech industry was only outpaced by his energy. He clearly gets it and that is leading to good things. Its great to have the government join the community and adding value at a personal level.
Next up is a Smart Grid Challenge from the Dept of Energy. Let’s hope they take a similar tact.
Winners of yesterday’s contest were equally inspiring. They created these apps in just a few months and they were all very cool:
- Eco Hatchery’s Light Bulb Finder which helps find light bulbs that meet the new requirements.
- BrighterPlanet’s HootRoot which helps you select the greenest travel route/transport option
- EarthFriend a student created app that uses games to teach all ages about the environment
- Environmental Justice Participatory Mapping also student designed, which helps people of the Navajo Nation find safe drinking water in their community
- Cognizant Technology Solutions’s CGSearch helps travelers compare air quality in any city
Great event. I hope to see more like it.
[[Full disclosure, my husband, Robert Bectel, is CTO for DOE's EERE group and will likely have involvement in the Smart Grid Challenge]]
apps · environment · EPA · government
