Today we’re announcing the notable panel of judges who will select the winners of the Library’s ongoing Congressional Data Challenge: a competition asking participants to leverage legislative data sets on Congress.gov and other platforms to develop digital projects that analyze, interpret or share congressional data in user-friendly ways.
The four-person panel, composed of experts in data visualization, application development, the U.S. Congress and congressional data, includes:
- Andy Boyle, a writer, web developer, speaker and director of Platform Architecture at Axios, a digital media company. Boyle previously worked for a variety of news outlets including NBC News, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the St. Petersburg Times and The New York Times Regional Media Group, where his work was cited in the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.
- Paul Ford, a journalist, programmer and co-founder of Postlight, a digital product studio in New York City. Ford is author of “What is Code,” published in 2015 in Bloomberg Businessweek, a breakthrough piece that reveals how computers, applications and software work.
- Lisa LaPlant, an information-technology specialist within the Office of Programs, Strategy and Technology at the Government Publishing Office. LaPlant supports strategic initiatives, organizational transformation and government transparency by utilizing agile frameworks to manage complex, mission-critical, public-facing technology programs and projects.
- Frances E. Lee, a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland who teaches courses in American government, the public policy process, legislative politics and political ambition. Lee’s research focuses on American governing institutions, especially the U.S. Congress. Lee is co-editor of Legislative Studies Quarterly, a scholarly journal specializing in legislatures and author of multiple books on the U.S. Congress.
The Congressional Data Challenge will run from 19 October 2017 through 02 April 2018.
The panel will evaluate entries based on three criteria: usefulness, creativity and design. The Library of Congress will award $5,000 for the first prize and $1,000 for the best high school project. Honorable mentions may be awarded for best tracking of legislative status, best data visualization and best data mashup.
Entries are due April 2, 2018, and must be submitted through the challenge.gov platform; see rules and additional information on the Library of Congress Labs site. Read the Library of Congress press release.