The Victorian government will spend $10,000 on a competition to spur creative use of the state government’s data.
Victorian technology minister Gordon Rich-Phillips announced today that the government would award $2500 prizes to four projects that best showcase how government data can be used to serve a market need or address industrial, environmental or community issues.
The winners will also consult with the Victorian government to develop the projects and receive mentorship with members of the Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA).
The state government data is available through data.vic.gov.au.
“This provides a great opportunity to discover new datasets and to work together to create both traditional and non-traditional applications for wider use and for the benefit of the Victorian public,” Rich-Phillips said in a statement.
The Victorian government has released more than 1000 datasets under its government ICT strategy, including 5550 geospatial datasets identifying the geographic location of natural and constructed features and boundaries of Victoria.
The state government has been encouraging the private sector to create applications using the data. The initiative creates value for the community with no development costs for the state, the Victorian government’s chief technology advocate, Grantly Mailes, said in a recent interview.
The competition is now open for registration on the SIBA website; it will close on 28 February. Winners will be announced at the Connect Expo on 14 March.
The announcement follows news earlier this week that the New South Wales government will let users explore NSW geospatial datasets through Google Earth.
Adam Bender covers startup and business tech issues for Techworld and is the author of a dystopian novel about surveillance. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam
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