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Civic Hackathons: New Terrain for Local Government-Citizen Interaction?

Author

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  • Pamela J. Robinson

    (School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada)

  • Peter A. Johnson

    (Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada)

Abstract

As more and more governments share open data, tech developers respond by creating apps using these data to generate content or provide services that citizens may find useful. More recently, there is an increase in popularity of the civic hackathon. These time-limited events gather tech enthusiasts, government workers and interested citizens, in a collaborative environment to apply government open data in developing software applications that address issues of shared civic importance. Building on the Johnson and Robinson (2014) framework for understanding the civic hackathon phenomenon, Canadian municipal staff with civic hackathon experience were interviewed about their motivations for and benefits derived from participation in these events. Two broad themes emerged from these interviews. First, through the development of prototypical apps using municipal open data and other data sets, civic hackathons help put open data into public use. Second, civic hackathons provide government staff with valuable feedback about municipal open data sets informing and evolving future open data releases. This paper concludes with reflections for urban planners about how civic hackathons might be used in their practice and with recommendations for municipal staff considering using civic hackathons to add value to municipal open data.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela J. Robinson & Peter A. Johnson, 2016. "Civic Hackathons: New Terrain for Local Government-Citizen Interaction?," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 1(2), pages 65-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:urbpla:v:1:y:2016:i:2:p:65-74
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Johnson & Pamela Robinson, 2014. "Civic Hackathons: Innovation, Procurement, or Civic Engagement?," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 31(4), pages 349-357, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Berg, Sebastian & Clute-Simon, Veza & Freudl, Rebecca-Lea & Rakowski, Niklas & Thiel, Thorsten, 2021. "Civic Hackathons und der Formwandel der Demokratie - Eine repräsentationstheoretische Analyse von #WirVsVirus [Civic Hackathons and Democratic Transformation - #WirVsVirus in Terms of Political Rep," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 62(4), pages 621-642.
    2. Pamela Robinson & Peter A. Johnson, 2021. "Pandemic-Driven Technology Adoption: Public Decision Makers Need to Tread Cautiously," International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), IGI Global, vol. 10(2), pages 59-65, April.

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