Local governments have long been the keeper of community records. The amount of data maintained by most local governments is substantial. These data have tremendous value for a variety of analytic purposes and can provide managers with important tools for understanding how to improve operations and deliver services more effectively.

ICMA is partnering with its long-time Strategic Partner, Esri, to launch a new Local Government and Technology Initiative. The initiative is designed to educate ICMA members about the nature of open government and open data. The purpose is not to turn local government managers into “techies,” but rather help them understand how they might increase efficiency and improve local government performance by opening up their data sets and using it for the development of new apps.

Over the course of 2013, Esri and ICMA will sponsor a series of projects to put new tools into the hands of local government executives to help them with their work as well as respond to what their residents want and need.

• An Esri-ICMA local government executive white boarding exercise will be held at the Esri Campus in Redlands, California, on April 25, 2013. Fifteen ICMA members will be selected to participate in the event to identify the data and design elements for apps that are most desired by local government executives. Apply Now!

• Over the summer, Esri and ICMA will introduce an open government/open data educational campaign, which will include sponsoring a series of Dev Meets Ups (informal meetings for sharing programming developments) around the country to bring the local government and computer programming communities together.

• Finally, drawing on information developed during the white boarding exercise and gained from the open government/open data campaign, the first Esri-ICMA computer hack-a-thon will be held in conjunction with the 2013 ICMA Annual Conference in Boston. Computer programmers will use data sets provided by local governments to create new apps for the local governments.

Watch for more information on this new initiative in the coming weeks. For more information, contact Cory Fleming at cfleming@icma.org or 207-854-1083.