CONFERENCE Open Gov West 2011 is a two-day nonprofit conference being held at the Jupiter Hotel in Portland May 13-14, 2011. OGW '11 is designed to bring the Northwest region together to explore opportunities to open government, increase civic engagement, and coordinate projects across governments. Now is the time to move from old models and technology to finding innovative, cost efficient, and transparent methods for accomplishing government’s core missions.The conference exposes attendees to new ideas, technologies, practices, and partnerships. The conference’s goal is to help your organization build relationships and gain insights which help you build a more transparent, engaged government.

APPS CONTEST The conference also includes an app development contest on Day Two, May 14. Developers entering the Open Gov West Cross-Gov Apps Contest have the opportunity to transform government data into useful information accessible to the masses—and to win prizes like iPads, marketing assistance, and technology prize packs. Governments from across the Pacific Northwest will send representatives from their own data.gov sites to offer developers advice and support, making this a unique opportunity for developers to interact directly with government data providers while building the applications.

The competition will run in the style of a code-a-thon, in which development begins Saturday, May 14 at 9 a.m. with a 7 p.m. deadline, with winners announced that evening. Sponsor Tropo will be providing $1,000 in developer scholarships and free development kits for participants. Developers are encouraged to purchase a ticket through Open Gov West or apply for developer scholarships. For more information: http://www.opengovwest.org/events/conference/opengovwest-11/1304-2/

For more information, please visit opengovwest.org. To register, please visit opengovwest.eventbrite.com.