Every year institutions, researchers and practitioners generate thousands of datasets, reports and articles about development issues. Yet, much of this knowledge remains underused. Open data online makes it possible to take information on research from various sources and generate ‘mash-ups’ to make it available in different places and on different platforms.
The four-day “hackathon” held from January 22 to 25, 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya, gathered experts on agriculture and nutrition alongside technical developers to create innovative prototypes aimed at increasing the use and impact of research in this field.
Subject experts explored key needs for access to research and data, devised problem statements and identified the challenges. In response to those challenges, they worked on prototype solutions that were showcased and reviewed. The best prototype was awarded a package of financial and practical support to take forward future development of the idea.
“Hackathons” (also known as a hackfest or hack days) are events in which computer programmers join forces with a number of other experts such as designers, investors, project managers, and spend a short intense period together to develop technical ideas and solutions.
The event was organized by the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) and Research for Development (R4D) to allow anyone to tap into over 15 years of curated development research. The hackathon was hosted by iHub, an open innovation space in Nairobi.
The Institute of Development Studies supports access to and use of research knowledge in development through the provision of online and offline knowledge services such as the Knowledge Services Open API that provides easy programmatic access to tens of thousands of thematically organised research documents that are freely available online. Research for Development is an online portal providing free access to research material (publications and projects) funded by Department for International Development (DFID).
For more information check the IDS API page