Can I compete in the national GovHack competition at Unleashed?
Yes.  Unleashed is the Adelaide node of GovHack.  There will be local and national prizes to compete for.

Who is Unleashed targeting as participants?
Last year participants were predominantly people who wrote code. This year, in addition to our hackers and data gurus, we really want to attract as many different skill-sets as possible including media people, graphic designers, marketers, journalists, researchers, thinkers and generalists. When it comes to putting together a fresh team on the opening night, there are clear advantages to having a diverse team skill-set. Also, makers and artists can participate in the Machinery of Data event.

Are there any entry fees?
No.  Unleashed is a free competition.

How do I participate?
Places are limited, so please register online to participate.

Can I register if I don’t have a team?
Yes! Teams can be formed at the beginning of the competition weekend. Teams require a broad range of skills so you may be able to find and join a team on the day.

What will the rules be?
These are posted on the national GovHack competition website. Click here to see them.

Who is eligible to enter the competition?
To be eligible for prizes, individual entrants must be either an Australian resident or Australian citizen. For team entries, at least one member of the team must be an Australian resident or Australian citizen. At least one team member must be over 18.

I would like to sponsor Unleashed, who do I contact?
Send us an email at:

What are the prize categories?
Prize categories will be listed on the GovHack site here.

Can I just come and observe the competition?
Yes.  There will be spaces for both competitors and observers. It is recommended that observers register as an observer to guarantee entry.

Can I compete as an individual?
Yes you can, but being part of a team may make things a little easier as the competition only runs for 48 hours.  Teams are formed and registered at the beginning of the competition.

Do I need to bring anything?  What will be supplied?
All you need to bring is your preferred development device and some ideas.  We will supply wireless internet, food, coffee, tea, facilities and anything else we can think of to create a great experience.

Will the venue be open 24 hours during the competition?
No, the venue will close overnight from 11pm.

Where can I find the data sets for the competition?
All data sets can be found listed on the GovHack site here, and data for Unleashed can be found on data.sa.gov.au.

What sort of open data will be available?
South Australian and national government open data sets, appropriately creative commons licensed.

Can I participate in the Machinery of Data competition and Unleashed?
Yes, these are separate competitions and you are welcome to participate in both. Click here for the MOD FAQs.

Can I compete using a specific dataset that I have previously used through employment, research, studies, volunteering, etc?
No, as this would not be in the spirit of the competition.

Can people participate remotely?   
Yes you can participate remotely. Register here. However you must register for a Virtual ticket at a #Govhack location in your state or territory!

Do all Unleashed virtual team members need to be from South Australia?
You need to reside in South Australia to gain a virtual Unleashed ticket.  If you reside in another state or territory please join your local #GovHack event.

Do I need to store my entry source material?
You need to submit your “source material”. For an application this may be source code, for another work it might be your notes or prototypes. The key thing here is that your source material demonstrates to the judges that some of the end result was your own work and that it is possible for another person to replicate that work. Store source material on GitHub. Here is GitHub Tutorial for you.

Can I use proprietary tools in my entry?
You can to play with data, but anything submitted must be open source & CC-BY licensed.

What do I need to do for the video entry for #Govhack #UnleashedADL?
Entries are in the form of a three minute (maximum) video that demonstrates why your entry should win. Record a speech and mix images/text to accompany. Make sure you introduce your team members and give your entry a name. Good videos will explain what data, skills or techniques have been used. Screen casting is a great way to show your idea working. Here is a tutorial for making your video.
The easiest way to make a video is to mix up video with voice over. To mix together clips, you can use:

•    Screenr (http://www.screenr.com/) , ActivePresenter Free Edition and other screencasting tools allow you to demo apps.
•    To mix together clips, you can use youtube video editor http://www.youtube.com/editor  or local software like http://www.videolan.org/vlmc/ or http://www.lwks.com
•    For graphics, use storyboards with these free icons https://dribbble.com/shots/1083617-430-FREE-storyboard-illustrations.

Will we get dedicated hosting for web apps or mashups?
No.  Store source material on GitHub.  Here is GitHub Tutorial for you.

Who won the Premier’s Award last year?
View the GovHack UnleashedADL video entry from the 2013 Unleashed Premier’s Award  winner, SocialActive.

Are there any examples of video entries from past GovHack Unleashed competitions?
Check out these 2013 entries:
SocialActive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDiky8XNmLM
Unearthing your career  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfwNFY4tdEU
School Radar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFULKbRMRKY
Activate Adelaide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ1Ws-oQdWA
Local Active https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma7WqYQOxV0

Is the competition just about pitching a good idea?
No, the competition looks at several elements to judge entries including:
•    A descriptive project page listing their team members, details about their project, what data sets they used and what competition categories (local and national) that they are going for.
•    Outcomes from the project itself (any code, graphics, mashups, applications, website URLs, etc) which must all be made available under an open source/content licence to be eligible for prizes. If judges are able to see and play with it that is useful, but this is a minor component of the judging. Teams can put the code/source on GitHub, Sourceforge or an equivalent repository system and must make the URL available on their team page for verification.
•    A three minute pre-recorded video embedded on their project page in which they present their project. This could include the team talking about their project, a screencast of the project, and anything else appropriate for video. Check out the developer kit for some assistance and instruction on how to make a compelling video.

All GovHack entries will be judged by the GovHack Competition Judging Panel against the following criteria:
•    Originality
•    The relevance to the team nominated category definition
•    Consistency with contest purposes including social value
•    Quality and design (including standards compliance)
•    Usability (including documentation and ease of use)

Can we use non-government data?
Non-government data can be used for national GovHack and local Unleashed entries, however you should use at least one government dataset in a significant way if you want to win a prize .

Data.sa includes the following non-government data, which can be used for Local Unleashed South Australia prize categories.

• The University of Adelaide
• Internode – Adelaide Free wi-fi
• News Corp Australia – Journalism API Pilot
• Public Health Information Development Unit
• Connecting Up – Community and not-for-profit data

Make sure you check the prize category though as some prizes have specific data use requirements.

Do we have to use data.sa datasets?
You are encouraged to use data from the Official GovHack data http://www.govhack.org/data/ but you can use any other government datasets as long as they are released under a licence that allows reuse. Remember to check the prize category though as some prizes have specific data use requirements.

Can I mash-up official open data from the different locations of GovHack?
Yes please! In fact we encourage you to use datasets required for National GovHack Prizes with data required for Unleashed prizes to double the chances to win.

Can we bring booze to Unleashed events?
Sorry to be the party pooper but Unleashed is an alcohol free event.

Will food and beverages be provided?
Yes, breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided with beverages supplied.

Can we use data from Flickr, Twitter & Facebook?
The competition is predominately about Open Government data so it may be challenging to find Twitter and Facebook data that is available for re-use and meets prize category requirements. Some historical collections do use flikr and are licensed for reuse such as    http://www.data.sa.gov.au/dataset/south-australians-of-world-war-1-photographs-flickr-set or check here http://www.govhack.org/data/.

What sort of skills should teams have?
We encourage you to form teams with mixed skills sets.

How much space will there be?
With up to 150 participants at the Unleased Adelaide site in 2014, we are hosting the event over multiple floors!  There will even be some designated media zones for Sunday video and audio  recording sessions.