On August 1, the Junta de Castilla y León opened the deadline to receive new proposals in the field of open data. Thus, with the aim of "recognizing the realization of projects that provide any type of idea, study, service, website or applications for mobile devices, and that use datasets from the Open Data Portal of the Junta de Castilla y León", they have launched a new edition of their open data contest.

The initiative, which has been running since 2016, aims to awaken interest in open data and the multiple economic possibilities associated with it. In this way, it manages to encourage the production of services and projects linked to the reuse of public information and the data economy of Castilla y León.

The period for submitting projects in the different categories set out in the rules (Ideas, Products and Services, Educational Resource and Data Journalism) will be open for two months, extending until October 2. The procedure for submitting applications follows the same dynamics as in previous years: participants can choose to apply in person or electronically. The latter will be carried out through the Electronic Headquarters of Castilla y León and can be processed by both individuals and legal entities.

Promoting open data through four differentiated categories

As in previous editions, the projects and associated prizes are divided into four different categories:

Teaching Resource: Creation of open teaching resources (published under Creative Commons licenses), new and innovative, that use datasets from the Junta de Castilla y León's Open Data portal and that serve as support for classroom teaching. The 6th edition of the contest awarded the GeoChef project in this category. Its author received €1,500 in prize money.

Products and Services: Projects that provide studies, services, websites or applications for mobile devices using datasets from the Junta de Castilla y León's Open Data portal. In the 2022 edition, the first prize in this category went to 'Oferta de Formación profesional de Castilla y León, una alternativa atractiva y accesible con herramientas no-cod'. Its author won €2,500.

Data Journalism: This category includes journalistic pieces published or updated (in a relevant way) in any medium (written or audiovisual), using datasets from the Open Data portal of the Junta de Castilla y León. In the previous edition, Asociación Maldita took the first place thanks to the informative service, 'Elections 13-F in Castilla y León: there will be 186 polling stations less than in the autonomic elections of 2019'.

Ideas: This includes those projects that describe an idea that can be used to create studies, services, websites or applications for mobile devices. The main requirement they must meet is to use datasets from the Junta de Castilla y León's Open Data portal. Last year the project 'Elige tu Universidad (Castilla y León)' was awarded the first prize of €1,500.

Regarding the awards of this seventh edition, the prizes have an economic endowment of 12,000 €, which is distributed according to the awarded category and the position achieved.

Ideas Category

• First prize 1,500 €.
• Second prize 500 €.

Products and services category

• First prize 2.500 € 
• Second prize 1.500 €.
• Third prize 500 €.
• Students prize: 1.500 €.

Educational resource category

• First prize 1.500 €.

Data Journalism Category

• First prize 1.500 € 
• Second prize 1.000 € 

As in previous editions of the competition, the final verdict will be issued by a jury made up of members with proven experience in the field of open data, information analysis or the digital economy. The jury's decisions will be made by majority vote and, in the event of a tie, the final decision will rest with the president.

Once the result is known, the winners will have a period of five working days to accept the award. If the prize is not accepted, it will be understood that the prize has been waived. If you want to consult in detail the conditions and legal bases of the contest you can access them through this link.