Open Gov & Civic Tech Meetup, Apr 21
Date: Mon, Apr 21, 2014
Time: 6:45 - 8:45 pm
Location: Terrazas Branch Library, 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX, 78702 (map)
Calendar: link
Topic One: Meet the City of Austin Data Architect
The City of Austin has just created a new position, a Data Architect. This person will be on the Communications and Technology Management (CTM) staff, and will be responsible for the data architecture of key enterprise projects in the city. They also will play a large role in shaping our open data systems.
His name is Ted Lehr. We'll have an opportunity to meet Ted, and talk about the future for open data initiatives in the city.
Topic Two: Austin 3-1-1: Data, Apps, and API
Back in early 2013, the City of Austin was contemplating a contract extension with our 3-1-1 service system provider. At the direction of the City Council, Open Austin members met with city staff to discuss the project plans. Our key feedback point was concern the project support open data and open API standards, and not lock us into a proprietary platform app. We also dove deeper into the plans to integrate 3-1-1 with other city systems.
The city council approved the contract -- with our support -- and city staff have been moving forward on implementation.
Now, about a year later, the results are coming to fruition. Open data is already being published on the open data portal. Soon, the city will begin limited testing not only of mobile platform apps, but also Open311 API services. Also, plans for an enterprise service bus to integrate the 3-1-1 systems into the other city enterprise systems is proceeding.
Brian Hooper and Bill Starks from Austin 3-1-1 will be coming to our meeting to provide a status update, and discuss plans for public testing of the apps and API.
After the meetup, we'll move across the street to Cenote cafe.
The meetup location is easily accessed by public transportation and has plentiful parking. If you park, however, be sure to move your car if you plan to come to Cenote. The lot is locked when the library closes.
The Open Austin Hack Team will have a check-in from 6:00 - 6:30 pm, in advance of the meetup. If you are a developer or designer who wants to work on hacking projects, please come for the check-in to find out what's going on.
Open Austin hosts a monthly meet-up, to discuss local open government and civic technology issues. Our meet-ups are free and open to the public.