Civic Hackathon Challenge Brief template for Google Docs

The first pages of the Civic Hackathon Challenge Brief template

Every page (7)

Overview

This hackathon brief template is a ready-made Google Docs document for councils and nonprofits that run a short public-interest challenge using open data. It frames the challenges, the datasets, the partners, the constraints and the outcomes across seven designed pages, so teams know exactly what to build and how it will be judged.

Each page carries sample figures for Quillon Cloud, a fictional technology partner, from a 36-hour event with 24 teams. Replace the themes, datasets and partners with your own, and keep the judging weights and deadlines in numbers. The constraints page protects people's data, so review it with your data protection lead before publishing.

Useful for

Running a 36-hour weekend event using council transport data
A charity-led challenge on housing repairs with a local college
A one-day schools challenge using library and energy data

What's included

Challenge page with a trend chart and the four themes
Data page with the datasets teams used and their demand
Partners page with a directory and a responsibility grid
Constraints page with a risk heat map and register
Outcomes page with a scorecard of targets
Guide page with steps to replace the sample challenges

How to use it

1
Click Make a copy in Google Docs, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.
2
Replace the themes, datasets and partners with your own.
3
Publish the judging weights, deadlines and prizes in numbers.
4
Check the constraints with your data protection lead before sharing.
5
Delete the guide page, then share the brief or present it from Google Docs.

What you need

Requirements

A Google account with access to Google Drive

Works with

Google Docs
Microsoft Word (download the .docx)

Questions

Are the council, people and figures real?

No. Quillon Cloud, its partners, datasets and results are fictional sample material, written to show a finished hackathon brief.

Can I run it without a technology partner?

Yes. Partners supply mentors and sometimes prizes, but a council can run the event with its own data team and a local college, as long as the rules are clear.

How do I keep personal data safe?

Use only open or anonymised datasets, forbid teams from pulling in personal records, and remove any prototype that stores personal data before judging.

#hackathon-brief
#civic-tech
#open-data
#public-interest
#challenge-brief
#google-docs-template

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