Open Data Week is an annual festival of community-driven events organized and produced by the NYC Open Data Team at the Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI), BetaNYC, and Data Through Design. The next festival takes place online and in New York City from March 22 to March 30, 2025, and we are excited to hear from you!

NYC School of Data is a day-long conference organized by BetaNYC during Open Data Week. In 2025, the conference will close out our festival at CUNY School of Law on Saturday, March 29.

If you’d like to submit a proposal for an Open Data Week event or an NYC School of Data conference session, you have come to the right place! Learn more about what we are looking for below and use this form to submit your idea.

If you’d like to submit a proposal to Data Through Design’s annual gallery exhibition, please visit their website to learn about this year’s theme and submit your concept.

Submission Deadline: While the official deadline has passed, you can still submit your proposal using this form. We are reviewing proposals in the order we receive them and will consider late proposals on a case-by-case basis. If your proposal fits into one of the categories below, it may take more time for the Open Data Week team to work with you to refine it:
  • You are a first-time Open Data Week organizer
  • You are unsure about the format of your event
  • You are proposing a panel or an event where you will need time to finalize speakers/panelists/judges
  • You are proposing an in-person event, since those have more inherent logistical complexity
  • You would like to hold an event that runs longer than the 1-hour time limit

What is this form?
Use this form to submit a proposal to the Open Data Week program and the School of Data program. Learn more about the difference below. If you’re unsure which program your idea is most suitable for, you can tell us in the form and we’ll help you make the decision. Please use the questions outlined in this PDF as a means to develop your ideas, and put all final responses in this online application. Do not use the PDF to submit your proposal. Do not use this form to submit an idea for Data Through Design’s annual art exhibit (use their form at datathroughdesign.com!). 

Who should submit a proposal?
We are looking for event and session organizers who want to share their work, expertise, and enthusiasm for open data and NYC. Presenters should have expertise in their proposal topic and experience with presenting to a live audience.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. It does not matter how you identify or how others perceive you. We welcome you!

What can I submit?
We are excited to hear your ideas for in-person and virtual events, whether you have a rough sketch, a grand vision, or anything in between. Please read the following criteria carefully and be sure that your proposal meets them. Note that once your proposal is accepted, you will have a chance to finalize your event information before it is published to the program.

Every proposal must meet at least one of the following criteria:
  • It relates to a dataset on NYC Open Data
  • It relates to publicly available data specifically about NYC
  • It relates to publicly available data about a broader area than NYC, if NYC is used as the main example
  • It relates to open data conceptually, if (where) NYC is used as a key case study/example
Submitting to School of Data?
Unless otherwise specified, all proposals will be evaluated for placement for both Open Data Week and the School of Data conference. For NYC School of Data, we are looking for conference sessions that activate NYC’s civic tech community. The main difference between being an organizer at School of Data vs during Open Data Week is the in-person nature of this conference. In particular, we are interested in interactive sessions that:

  • foster civic dialogue, collaboration, and participation
  • provide community-building or networking opportunities
  • demystify civic technology and make open data accessible to new and old audiences
  • teach participants a skill or tool
  • present non-traditional tech perspectives
  • present a community call to action

For additional inspiration, check out past NYC Open Data Week and School of Data event recordings here.

When and where do events take place?
All events must take place between March 22  and March 30. In your application, you can specify your preferences for your event’s setting. Please note that travel funding is not available.
  • Events that are selected for BetaNYC's School of Data program will take place on March 29, 2025 at CUNY School of Law as a conference session, typically lasting 60 minutes.
  • In-person events selected for the festival program will take place at a date and time of your preference and a venue secured by you.
  • Virtual events selected for the program will take place on our Zoom during a time slot arranged with the Open Data Week team, typically lasting 60 minutes.

What event formats are you looking for?
We are interested in a variety of virtual and in-person events including:

  • Community Activities
  • Demos or Showcases of projects
  • Exhibitions
  • Hackathons or Data Jams
  • Mapathons
  • Networking Events
  • Outdoor Excursions
  • Performances or Art Installations
  • Panel Discussions
  • Parades
  • Public Trainings
  • Talks
  • Tours
  • Workshops

How many proposals can I submit?
Please propose one idea per form submission. You are more than welcome to submit more than one proposal.

What should I expect after submitting a proposal?
The Open Data Week Team will review proposals on a rolling basis. Here is our process:

  1. You submit your proposal.
  2. Our team reviews your proposal.
  3. You will hear from us within 30 days of your submission.
  4. If your proposal is selected for further discussion, you will be asked to have a call with our team to discuss it. 
  5. If your proposal is selected for the program, you will be asked to submit program-ready event details by early February and you will be invited to attend information sessions in the months leading up to the festival.
Possible outcomes include:

  1. Your proposal is selected for the program.
  2. You are asked to edit or reframe your proposal in a discussion with our team.
  3. You are asked to merge your proposal with another, similar, proposal.
  4. Your proposal is rejected.
If selected for participation, you agree to the following:

  1. Being responsive to communications from the Open Data Week 2025 Team and finalizing your event information in a timely manner
  2. Promoting Open Data Week 2025 to your communities
  3. Responding to a follow-up survey to report event metrics and information
  4. Adhering to the event organizer timeline and all accessibility and inclusivity event management practices to the best of your ability (the Open Data Week Team will provide guidance where possible)
When will the program be published?
This date is highly dependent on you working with us to get your submission program-ready! Our aim is to launch a version of the program in January 2025. Please submit your ideas early so we can discuss them with you. The sooner we can publish the program, the sooner we can promote your events.

Communications: By submitting an event proposal, you agree to be included in limited communications from the Open Data Week team and can unsubscribe at any time.

Data Use: The data collected by this submission form is collected by BetaNYC and will be used to plan, manage and assess the Open Data Week events. Data will be accessible to the Open Data Week team members. BetaNYC’s privacy policy can be found at:
https://github.com/BetaNYC/What-is-BetaNYC/blob/master/PrivacyPolicy.md

Questions? Email us at team@open-data.nyc.
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