The City of Maple Ridge has launched a new virtual hackathon.
The city hopes to cultivate new, innovative solutions to keep citizens and businesses connected to their community, said a press release from city hall. Members of the public are invited to submit ideas for digital tools that align with council’s five strategic priorities, as found at mapleridge.ca.
Early ideas include a garbage and vandalism reporting platform, an app to link seniors to social activities during the pandemic and beyond, a Maple Ridge-focused interactive trail map and an online farmers market.
The hackathon will consist of four phases, with a theme of ‘Connecting our Community through Technology’:
Phase 1: from Dec. 23-Jan. 18: The public submits suggestions online at hackerearth.com, with the top ideas shortlisted to advance to the next stage in the competition.
Phase 2: from Jan. 18-Feb. 21: App creators are solicited to develop prototypes for the top ideas, with a panel of judges selecting finalists to continue to the final round.
Phase 3: from Feb. 21-23: Finalists present their prototypes at the 2021 Intelligent Community Forum (jointly hosted by the City of Maple Ridge and the Township of Langley) and winners are chosen by a judging panel.
Phase 4: Winning prototypes are deployed for use.
“We’re looking forward to seeing many creative ideas that are submitted and developed through this event,” said Karen Stewart, chief information officer.
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“These solutions will help us foster collaborative approaches across many internal and external initiatives – creating and sharing data for the good of all staff, residents, businesses, visitors and customers. Through this initiative and the use of technology, we will continue our city’s digital transformation that will connect, innovate, engage and sustain our community.”
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