From 17-20 May 2021, an online Open Data Hackathon was organized by the Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society within the USAID Civic Engagement Project.

13 participants applied for participation in the Hackathon and 3 working teams were formed. The teams had the task to develop software solutions that will be beneficial for the citizens, using open data from publicly available databases of institutions. The winner of the event was the Discindo team, which according to the jury offered the best and most creative software solution for the challenge faced by the local self-government units when announcing their annual budget.

Discindo offered a web application that will enable the conversion of an excel spreadsheet into a readable document, and which will allow storing the converted documents into a public repository. It will also allow the user to see visualizations of the municipal budget and a comparison between revenues and expenditures.

Screenshot from the wining software solution

Using open data, through innovative ideas and application of existing knowledge, creative teams of people from many sectors had the opportunity to contribute to increasing the quality of life or in facilitating and solving social problems of citizens. Open data, in addition to increasing citizens’ trust in institutions through transparency and accountability of the authorities, can have a positive impact on the business, academic and civil society sectors. They are extremely important for creating new products and services that can facilitate and also improve the daily life of citizens.

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