Hackathon invents digital tools to fix Congress

Think of the US Congress and is unlikely to come to mind the term "high tech". The US government is ridiculed for being slow, out of touch and hopelessly behind the times. Now it is becoming a digital tool longtime through a favorite boosting technology community: hackathons.

Last week, I went to the Kennedy Center of Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which hosted the first of three modern hackathons focused on finding solutions to intractable political problems,: for example, how parties raise money and deep divide between Republicans and Democrats. Over time, the best teams will travel to Washington DC to present their ideas to members of Congress.

It is an unconventional approach admits opengov Seamus Kraft Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington who helped put on the event. But I can bring insists That sense of urgency and with a new set of skills for a government deeply in need of innovation.

"People are inundated Congress in or linked to the tradition, and they do not know there is a better way," he says. "Through Hack4Congress, we can show that there are alternatives - they are here, they are true and, most importantly, there are people willing to help who they are."

In a panel discussion, experts heard - Includes a former congressman - describes the problems currently plaguing Congress, treats, including overworked staff, partisanship and low levels of citizen participation. Former US Representative Bill Delahunt Reflected in the obstacles that I faced during his time in office. "I think in reality there is no simple solution. This is creating an opportunity for people to communicate," Delahunt Said. "If we want to achieve an agenda that the American people can support, you have to create those relationships."

Attendees had a day and a half to reach workable solutions. A team built an online tool that allows members of the committee to hold hearings on the virtual Congress that are open to the public. Another group suggested radical redesign of internal communication system of the Congress, by making it easier for representatives to collaborate, search files through the use and analytics to find patterns. Yet another team built an application that allows staff to quickly survey your push notifications Mortgage Constituents.

My favorite thought was a reality TV show called The Candidate, follow through what might spectators aspiring politicians in local elections and support through a crowdfunding website. The next step: "Think American Idol meets YouTube meets Kickstarter compliant with the policy."

But the winner of the weekend was the Congress Connect, an online platform that helps people organize meetings with their representatives walk. The site also offers tutorials on how to prepare for meetings and helps the public to find ways minded voters through social media.

"Much of the discussion on fixing acerca Congress is to become more responsive to constituents and less sensitive to the lobbyists and money representatives," says Chris Baily, an interactive designer in New York and member of Congress Connect.

Baily's team demonstrate their notion that Congress in May, with the winners of more hackathons Congress under San Francisco and Washington DC. Members of Congress and other government workers to provide feedback on the proposals.

The hackathons are part of a broader trend. Last summer, the White House released the digital service of the United States, a department dedicated to improving governance by building better websites and improve data sharing between agencies.