Third Hackathon Set for Nov. 30
The Third Congressional Hackathon has been announced by House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (Md.-5th) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.-23rd). The event will take place Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, from 2 to 6 pm in the US Capitol in Washington, DC.
The public is welcome; however, all participants are required to register in advance.
A bipartisan group of members of Congress, congressional staff, open government and transparency advocates, legislative branch agency staff, civic hackers, and developers from digital companies to explore the role of digital platforms in the legislative process come together for this event. Discussions at the Hackathon range from constituent services, data transparency, social media, public correspondence, committee hearings and the broader legislative process.
As Whip Hoyer said, technology continues to change the lives of Americans at an incredible rate, and those same technologies can be used to make government at all levels more transparent, effective, and efficient.
“This Hackathon will bring together a diverse group of experts to rethink how we can best take advantage of these exciting new technologies,” Whip Hoyer said. “I was proud to co-host the two prior congressional Hackathons, each of which resulted in tangible progress, and I am pleased to host this event again so that we can work together to open up government.”
Leader McCarthy said the Hackathon is part of the effort to modernize legislative institutions. “Over the past few decades, new technologies have generated exponential changes in how organizations function across most sectors of our economy, yet government has failed to keep pace with those changes. Software developers, designers and program engineers have a unique opportunity to restore the public’s trust in their nation’s legislative processes. I am very excited to bring people together to work towards these goals,” he said.
The first hour of the Hackathon will include brief remarks from Leader McCarthy, Whip Hoyer, and updates on digital and data efforts in the legislative branch. Participants can then break into groups to brainstorm and explore ideas on leveraging technology to improve and open the legislative branch.
Group topics will include legislative workflow and data, constituent communication and engagement, constituent casework and services, and modernizing congressional hearings.
In the final hour, participants will reconvene to hear recommendations and ideas from each group.
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For more information about House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.
