Intel Probes The Private-Sector Side Of Open Government Data

After the National Day of Civic Hacking drew 11,000 participants last June, lead sponsor Intel decided to take a deeper look at a few promising applications. The goal, according to Brandon Barnett, director of business innovation at Intel Labs, is to conduct practical experiments on how innovation takes place in and across business teams, and to see how large datasets can be used as fuel for new products and services.

Intel's is turning the spotlight on six projects in its Data Services Accelerator, an incubator of open data projects. OMG Transit uses open data from public transportation services to give users end-to-end navigation without using a car. The Disaster Recovery Assistance Tool connects first responders to residents in crisis situations. Purple Binder connects individuals with a range of social service providers, to match needs with available offerings. Public Good Software builds platforms that help organizations connect with and maximize the efforts of donors and volunteers.

The projects are quite different from one another, but a common thread is that they look at social or business problems addressed by large-scale institutions and structures, and look to disrupt them through crowdsourcing and data.