The U.S. Department of Labor has launched two contests with a total of $70,000 in prize money for software applications that showcase innovative uses of the department’s data.
The goal of the first contest is to connect unemployed workers with promising careers, and the goal of the second is to empower consumer choices about the hotel, motel, restaurant and retail industries. Information about both is posted at http://www.challenge.gov.
Applications that best satisfy the criteria for each challenge will be eligible to receive up to $35,000.
Developers are encouraged to combine the required data with any other publicly accessible data available on the Internet and to be creative in exploring approaches for realizing the goals. Submissions may be any kind of software tool, including those designed for the Web, a personal computer, a mobile handheld device, a console or any platform broadly accessible to the open Internet.
The challenges are open from now until Sept. 14. Judges will select the winners by Sept. 30, and they will be announced around Oct. 17 on the Web site.ʉۻ
To help facilitate these challenges, the Labor Department recently launched http://developer.dol.gov, a unique website that makes it easier for software developers to incorporate department data into online and mobile applications through published application program interfaces and software development kits.
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