A competition in Dublin is looking for innovative ideas and applications that use open data to help drive and support climate action.
The Dublin Region Climate Action Open Data Challenge is being organised by Smart Dublin and the city and county councils of Dublin, along with the Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office, Codema and Derilinx.
The challenge is seeking participants of all ages who have ideas that could support climate action in some shape or form using available data. All shortlisted projects that complete the challenge will receive €1,000, with a top prize of €5,000 also up for grabs for the winning idea.
Organisers of the challenge said developments in technology and modes of communication provide new opportunities for understanding the causes and consequences of the climate emergency.
“Climate change is the most pressing challenge of our time,” Smart Dublin regional manager Alan Murphy said. “Your local council plays a significant role to lead transformative change and measurable climate action across our cities and counties.
“With this data challenge, we are looking for innovative solutions such as analyses, applications, tools, maps, etc to help support all aspects of climate action.”
Organisers are looking for data-based proposals that can contribute to the five themes of Dublin’s climate action plans. These themes focus on buildings and energy, flood resilience, transport, resource management with the circular economy, and biodiversity.
Fingal County Council digital programme officer Aishling Hyland said the open data concept is about making data from public bodies accessible online for easy reuse and redistribution.
“Open data gives everyone access to non-personal government data which can deliver enhanced economic, social, environmental and democratic benefits to all,” Hyland said. “The Climate Action Open Data Challenge encourages applicants to use open data to support and drive climate action and deliver greater insights into climate change.”
In February, two new framework agreements were launched in Ireland to support public sector bodies in fulfilling their open data obligations. This was part of Government’s efforts to require public sector bodies to publish high-value data, as part of the Open Data Strategy approved in 2017.
Shortlisted participants for Dublin’s Climate Action Open Data Challenge will be given eight weeks between May and June to develop their proposals into workable projects. Advice and support will be provided by the challenge organising committee during this time. After the eight weeks, participants will showcase their work and find out who has won the top prizes.
The challenge has shared a list of organisations where participants can find relevant environmental data to develop their projects, such as the EPA, SEAI and the CSO.
The deadline for applications is 10 May. For more information on the competition, including how to apply, check out the competition website.
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