NIC Team Brings Innovation to myAmerica Developer Summit

Six technologists from NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV), the dominant provider of eGovernment services, participated recently in the myAmerica Developer Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Interior. The team was comprised of a chief architect and five developers representing the company’s Montana, Tennessee, and Texas portal subsidiaries.

Six technologists from NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) participated in the myAmerica Developer Summit in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Business Wire)

At the event, the NIC team pitched three service ideas, developed proof-of-concept solutions, and will soon be releasing the software created at the weekend summit under open source licensing on the summit’s official GitHub repository. NIC’s ideas specifically tap into the valuable Recreation.gov dataset, which is commonly referred to as the Recreation Information Database, or RIDB. The RIDB is the federal government’s inventory of information and services for millions of visitors to federal lands, historic sites, museums, and other attractions.

“At NIC, we are always focused on making government interactions more accessible to everyone through technology,” said Robert Knapp, NIC Chief Operating Officer. “I am very proud of our team for volunteering their time and talents as a public service to our country to help increase citizen engagement around our public lands and waters. We look forward to continuing to identify opportunities with the federal government to deliver digital government services that drive efficiencies.”

The three proof-of-concept solutions pitched by the NIC team and developed during the summit include:

RIDB Side Stream API and Reference Web Application:

The RIDB Side Stream API, or application program interface, allows developers to pull recreation information from sources external to the government, such as social media sites, photo sharing services, mapping systems, and travel site ratings, using a single API. The information can be retrieved using RIDB’s identifiers for recreation resources, simplifying retrieval and integration of this information into websites and applications.

Guest Book Check In with Beacons:

Beacons are an emerging technology which allow effortless interaction between users with mobile devices and their surrounding location. NIC created a virtual guest book system so that those visiting America’s public lands and waterways can check-in and provide a short message to fellow outdoor enthusiasts at the park. The check-in function utilizes a mobile application to automatically check into the specific recreation area once the mobile device detects a beacon for that location.

Recreation Tips API:

At the hackathon event, NIC created a tip system that could be attached to the recreation resources represented in RIDB. The system was created first as an API and then a reference web application was created to demonstrate how the system could be used within both official government and third-party recreation websites. Recreation tips are intended to assist the visitor in packing for a trip and finding their favorite recreation activity when they arrive.

Collectively, the solutions presented by NIC during the federal hackathon demonstrate that by working together, government and technology companies can create a richer repository of information about public lands and waters and provide greater access to those seeking recreational activities. The apps will soon be released into GitHub as open-sourced software and will be available for anyone’s use.

The myAmerica Developer Summit was held April 11-12, 2015 in Washington, D.C., to help promote and protect America’s public lands and waters by expanding and exploring opportunities for citizen engagement and industry partnership for the federal Recreation One Stop program.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times, most recently ranked at No.36 (2014), and the company has been included five times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

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