Interview with Jason Ernst, Grand Prize Winner of CODE
By Jason Ernst on January 9, 2015
Jason Ernst is a member of the Electric Sheep team (along with Carlos Saavedra), that won the Grand Prize and was voted Fan Favourite at CODE 2014. The team built the newRoots app that matches newcomers to Canada with cities to live in, based on their preferences across several domains. We asked Jason a few questions after CODE to learn more about the team and its experience. Q: What is your…
Canadian Open Data Experience {CODE} Runner-Up Kevin Quan: My CODE Experience
By Kevin Quan on December 22, 2014
Guest blogger: Kevin Quan of Team Quantified When I read about the CODE hackathon in the news, I was excited about participating. I’ve been fascinated with using data in novel ways for my entire career and now I had an opportunity to work with the huge amount of data that the Government has collected. In fact, the sheer amount of data was overwhelming. The theme of the hackathon was…
New Open Government Portal
By Stephen Walker on November 6, 2014
Fall 2014 has turned out to be an exceptionally important and busy season for open government in Canada: we finalized Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2.0, issued the Open Government Directive, and re-launched Canada’s Open Government Portal, at open.canada.ca. Here are some of the highlights: Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2.0 Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2.…
Towards Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2.0
By Open Government Team on October 9, 2014
Thank you for all of the comments and ideas you’ve provided towards Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2.0. These have come from in-person and online consultations, emails, and meetings. And there are many of them—the count is over 600. Summary reports on the feedback we’ve received are now posted on the What We Heard page. Most importantly, every idea, comment, and suggestion—whether it’s…
Demonstrating the Importance of Open Data for Developing Countries
By Michael Roberts on October 8, 2014
Guest blogger : Michael Roberts We are pleased to announce the 2014 Open Data for Development Research Grants, and we are looking for your proposals. Since the launch of the Open Government Partnership’s (OGP) Open Data Working Group in 2013, we at the Web Foundation have been pleased and proud to serve alongside Canada as co-chairs. This working group has been hard at work supporting…
Idea Dialogue Summary
By Open Government Team on August 27, 2014
The Government of Canada is currently finalizing its Action Plan on Open Government 2.0. Phase 3 of the Open Government consultation—on now— focuses on discussing and refining suggestions from the idea generation phase, or "Idea Dialogue." From April to July, the second phase focused on collecting ideas through workshops and expert panels across the country. We engaged with interested…
The Open Government Tour: Changing Canada by Exploring it
By Richard Pietro on July 29, 2014
Guest blogger: Richard Pietro This summer I am travelling across Canada on my motorcycle - approximately 20,000 KMs in total - to bring attention to the Open Government and Open Data movements. The Open Government Tour is putting into practice the theories and principles that make up these movements: transparency, accountability, and engagement. But first... Why I Think Open Data and Open…
Canada - a World Leader in Non-profit Data
By Michael Lenczner on July 3, 2014
By Michael Lenczner (Guest blogger) In 2010, I started Ajah to use data to help fundraisers identify likely sources of funding. Because I had been active in the Open Data movement since 2005, I knew that the information that they needed was out there. We worked hard for several years to build our service, Fundtracker. Fundtracker required combining many data sets: government spending data at…
"Law" as the first open data set
By Colin Lachance on May 27, 2014
By Colin Lachance (Guest blogger) Before there was “Open Data,” there was open access to the law under an instrument similar in many ways to today’s Open Government licences. In 1997, by way of Statutory Instrument 97-5, Reproduction of Federal Law (the Order) was issued and from that point, anyone had the right “without charge or request for permission, [to] reproduce enactments and…
Contribute to Open Government in Canada
By Open Government Team on April 24, 2014
In 2012, Canada joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to improve the quality of the programs and services that citizens receive. As we complete the second year of our membership in the Partnership, it is time, once again, to invite Canadians to contribute to the development of Canada’s Open Government Action Plan—Action Plan 2.0. Over the next few months, the Government of Canada will…
The CODE Winning Teams
By Open Government Team on April 2, 2014
Friday marked the Canadian Open Data Experience Grand Finale in Toronto, Ontario, exactly one month since the largest appathon in the country’s history. This exciting event was hosted by Ray Sharma, the CEO of XMG Studio. The 15 finalists pitched their innovative apps to the panel of judges, which included Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, and industry leader Robert Herjavec, author…
Canada's CIO Discusses the Success of CODE
By Corinne Charette on March 27, 2014
As the Government of Canada’s Chief Information Officer, part of my role is to discuss the evolution of Open Data with parliamentarians. After my most recent presentation on Parliament Hill, it struck me how remarkable it was that in a few short years the notion of opening up government data to make it re-useable without restriction to the public has gained such support across the Government of…
Vote for your Favourite App from the Top 15 CODE Submissions
By Open Government Team on March 21, 2014
The Government of Canada is making huge strides to bring Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government to everyday Canadians. It has committed to engage Canadians online, make government more transparent and provide access to useful public sector data. With these goals in mind, over 900 hackers, innovators and academics helped put the Government’s commitments into action by competing in a 48-hour…
Thank you for a great event!
By Open Government Team on March 3, 2014
Thank you to everyone who made the first Canadian Open Data Experience (CODE) a success! In particular, we want to thank the event organizers, XMG Studio and everyone who dedicated their weekend to supporting CODE, including all our open government colleagues from across the Government of Canada. Treasury Board President Tony Clement at the CODE Appathon Hub in Toronto, Ontario March…
Why is CODE Important?
By The Honourable Tony Clement on February 27, 2014
The Canadian Open Data Experience, or CODE, is an Open Data appathon where developers, students, and Open Data enthusiasts are invited to use Government of Canada data sets to develop consumer-friendly applications. It’s the first national appathon that specifically calls upon participants to re-purpose Canadian federal Open Data into something novel and useful with the goal of solving…
