1: Your health starts with you
Any great design begins with an idea from someone with intimate understanding of a problem. Nobody understands the barriers patients experience better than patients themselves. Creating a project that has a real and lasting impact on access to health takes much more than programmers or executives in suits. It takes people from all levels and walks of life. We need healthcare professionals (that’s doctors, nurses, PCAs, counselors, social workers, and everything in between) who understand the way our healthcare system currently works, and who see where it fails patients. We also need UX designers, testers, data collectors, database designers, systems administrators, legal advisors, promotions experts, and community partnerships to combine existing knowledge and new ideas in a working prototype.
Whatever stage of creation you feel comfortable helping with, whether a beginner or an expert, you have the power to make a huge impact this weekend. Hackathons are for hackers - and we think that anyone willing to tackle a problem quickly, creatively, and in the face of constraints is a hacker.
2: Never before seen datasets
The City of Philadelphia will be releasing 5 brand new public datasets on Thursday before the hackathon, stay tuned on PhillyInnovates.com for their announcement!
Update: data released!
The City has published and announced the 5 new datasets, they include:
3: Getting involved has never been easier (or more fun)!
Learn about known problems, current available data, and proposed solutions on Friday night. Enjoy a beverage while getting an overview of the most pressing health issues in Philadelphia from multiple perspectives. Presented ideas will be posted on the walls, and attendees will be issued a number of “upvote” stickers to affix to their favorite ideas as they mingle around the room. We know that new ideas might spring up during conversation, so these can be posted throughout the evening too.
The ideas discussed at Friday night’s Community Health Needs Assessment will provide a starting point for projects on Saturday and Sunday, but all ideas related to healthcare and public health are welcome. The only restriction is that all work done during the event must be released under an open-source or creative commons license.
4: Make new connections
This event will bring together healthcare enthusiasts, public health officials, technologists, community organizers, and civic engagement experts for a weekend-long rapid prototyping session. Participants will make headway on their projects - and fast. But the connections won’t end after the weekend is over. Our goal is to build lasting partnerships that can continue to serve the Philadelphia community long after the hackathon is over.
5: Ongoing Support Structure
So you’ve spent the weekend fleshing out a concept, exploring it with our panel of judges, and you want to invest the time to get it off the ground. Code for Philly provides the ultimate support structure for getting it done. We host five-hour workshops every week (food and Wi-Fi included) that you can attend at your leisure to work with your team, find new teammates, share your progress, or just put your head down and crunch for a couple hours.
Our leadership team spans industries and our network of partners spans the city, so we can help you make the connections you need, get the know-how you need, and build the infrastructure you need to take your idea from concept to a living part of the city.
6: Everyone wins
Recently we’ve eschewed the traditional judge-rank-prize approach to concluding hackathons and instead provide a panel of experts who can spend all of their energy helping you improve your project instead of assigning points. Any and all projects needing additional volunteer or funding support to realize their visions will get all the support Code for Philly and its network can offer. This means that teams who once may have seen each other as rivals are now free to exchange resources and questions. So who wins? Philly does
See you this weekend!
Drop us a line on twitter @CodeForPhilly with questions or comments, and don’t forget to register for the hackathon separately from the Community Needs Assessment if you’re planning on coming to both events.
Registrations will be accepted at the door Saturday morning, but registering online ahead of time makes it easier for us to ensure the right amount of food.
Help spread the word by sharing the link http://appsforphilly.org/health!
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