State-wide contest to build apps with public data | Business

A treasure trove of data is hosted on the state of Washington’s website. Everything from unemployment rates to population densities. If you had access to that data, what would you do with it?

The Department of Commerce is looking for developers across the state to build a variety of apps based on this public data for public use. The challenge titled “Evergreen Apps Challenge” opens today and is being funded by the Washington State Broadband Office. The state is offering more than $75,000 in prize money to app developers selected as winners in October.

Maybe you'd like to map out where unemployment is decreasing or real time map data for 911 calls, the information is there for you to do something - anything - with. 

An event is scheduled in Spokane later this month to build awareness in the developer community. On August 22, you’ll be able to hear from ESRI, the developers of a GIS mapping system and Socrata who builds websites for government data.

The event is from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and does require registration, but there will be some coding at the dinner. Event will be hosted on the Riverpoint Campus at 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd.