USAID announces Food Security Open Data Challenge

Following President Barack Obama's announcement of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition at a food security summit last week, "USAID launched a Food Security Open Data Challenge that invites technologists, agriculture stakeholders, entrepreneurs, academics, and others to determine the most creative and wide-reaching use of open data for food security solutions and better, cheaper, and faster results," Maura O'Neill, chief innovation officer at USAID, and Kat Townsend, special assistant for engagement at USAID, write in a post in the agency's "DipNote" blog (5/27). "Over the next few months, the Food Security Open Data Challenge will have three key components," including "an Ideation Jam where technologists and agriculture stakeholders will identify key innovation opportunities by focusing on the overlap of food security priorities and the potential of available data"; "a Codeathon to create and finalize solutions that are available for investment"; and "a Datapalooza, hosted by USAID Administrator Raj Shah, to announce challenge winners and showcase some of the best ideas for data-based solutions to food security," Hillary Chen, a senior adviser to the deputy director of global development at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, writes in this post in the White House Blog (5/25).