White House Innovation Demo Day - Recap of Best Posts!
/On July 29th, 2014, the White House held an Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Demo Day. Over 1,500 people participated online and in-person and I got to meet so many people that I have known online for years. Needless to say, the day itself was great, but the connections and conversation with everyone in attendance was amazing.
Several people have written summaries and opinions of the event. I thought it would be great to capture a number of them in one blog post.
From the White House:
“On Tuesday, more than 250 emergency managers, first responders, tech entrepreneurs, and local, state, and Federal officials came to the White House to participate in the Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Demo Day. The event was live-streamed to more than 1,250 people interested in leveraging tech and innovation to improve disaster preparedness, response and recovery.”
They also published a Demo Day fact sheet that includes summary descriptions of all the presentations.
From Kevin Sur (@rusnivek):
“My takeaways from the morning workshops? We need to continually evaluate the preparedness efforts in each community as there is no constant. Aside from quantifying preparedness (which is almost virtually impossible), we need to seek alternate ways to better serve our communities including ones who have distinct challenges.”
From Cheryl Bledsoe (@CherylBle):
“Rather than Creating Technology Solutions, Government Should Develop Trust & Meaningful Engagement with Tech Developers - Emergency responders should not be making technology and conversely, technology providers should not be leading the emergency response. For years, we have seen public agencies recreate the technical wheels of ideas that were often first birthed in the private sector. For example, government has attempted versions of social networks and damage reporting tools that look similar to both Facebook and Instagram, but few of the public apps have ever caught on in the public sphere like the ones more widely accepted. We have to develop trust and meaningful engagement between both groups so that people can lend their expert perspective into the development of technology and so that we are truly solving problems in a meaningful way.”
From Elaine Pittman (@elainerpittman) at Emergency Management Magazine:
White House Innovation Day Highlights Disaster Response, Recovery
“Emergency managers converged with the tech community in Washington, D.C., to discuss tools that can create more resilient communities and also positively impact disaster preparedness, response and recovery. The White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Initiative Demo Day on July 29 showcased new innovations in both government and the private sector that aim to aid the survivors of large-scale emergencies. ”
