City of Syracuse Opens Civic Data Challenge

Published on July 12, 2024

The Office of Analytics, Performance and Innovation (API) has announced its summer Civic Data Challenge, which will run July 15 to August 18. It will focus on code violations data and generative AI. The Civic Data Challenge is a month-long contest where members of the community get the chance to use datasets from Open Data Syracuse to build projects with data. 

Anyone with an interest in open data for the public good can take part in the Civic Data Challenge. API is challenging interested community members, college students, and professionals to build a data visualization, map, analysis, web application, chatbot or any other product using the City's code violations data and connect it to generative AI.

API has developed a custom ChatGPT, which participants are encouraged to use for their data analysis. Using this chatbot does require a ChatGPT account, but it does not have to be a paid account. Using this chatbot is optional for the challenge, and other projects are welcome as long as they use data found on the Open Data Syracuse and generative AI.  API has created a tutorial page explaining how the Code Violations Explorer Chatbot can be used here.

The winner will receive a Recess Coffee gift card, thanks to one of the challenge’s sponsors, and will have their work featured in the ‘Projects’ section of Open Data Syracuse and City social media channels. The winning project owner must be physically in or able to travel to Syracuse. More information on the Syracuse Data Challenge can be found at https://data.syr.gov/pages/data-challenge.