GovHack Hackathon Winner

Achievement Overview

Multiple award winner at the 2017 GovHack Hackathon in Ballarat, Victoria. Our team “CityZen” developed CityZen.space, a comprehensive data comparison platform analyzing city versus regional living standards. The project won 6 different awards across multiple categories, demonstrating exceptional technical and analytical capabilities.

Project Link: CityZen.space on GovHack 2017

Awards Received

Primary Awards:

• Commerce Ballarat Demographics - “What makes Ballarat and where are the gaps?”
• Ballarat Public Health & Wellbeing
• Ballarat Technology Park Creativity Challenge

Technical Excellence Awards:

• Censational Hack - Best Use of Census Data
• Bounty: .tech / .space - Technical innovation recognition
• Future of Work Hack - Economic analysis and workforce insights

Project: CityZen.space

Project Scope A comprehensive comparison platform analyzing Ballarat versus Melbourne living standards, examining multiple quality-of-life factors through data visualization and statistical analysis.

Data Analysis Focus

• Housing affordability and rental market analysis
• Crime statistics comparison and safety metrics
• Employment rates and income distribution
• Quality of life indicators and regional advantages
• Demographic trends and population analysis

Technical Implementation

• Government dataset integration from multiple sources
• Advanced data visualization and interactive dashboards
• Statistical analysis and comparative modeling
• User-friendly interface for public engagement
• Real-time data processing and presentation

Datasets Utilized

• Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data
• Victoria Police crime statistics
• Department of Housing affordability metrics
• Australian Taxation Office income data
• Regional development and employment statistics

Innovation & Impact

Technical Innovation Created intuitive data visualizations that made complex government datasets accessible to general public, enabling informed decision-making about regional versus metropolitan living.

Community Value Provided actionable insights for:

• Families considering regional relocation decisions
• Local government urban planning initiatives
• Economic development and investment strategies
• Public policy development and resource allocation

Professional Recognition Winning 6 awards across different categories demonstrates:

• Multi-disciplinary expertise spanning technology, public health, demographics, and economic analysis
• Technical excellence in data processing and visualization
• Innovation capability in civic technology and public engagement
• Team leadership in high-pressure competitive environment
• Public sector understanding of government data systems and community needs

This achievement showcases the ability to rapidly prototype solutions that address real community challenges while demonstrating advanced technical skills in data science and visualization.