A case study on hackathon # develops and a hackathons contribution to innovation

Abstract

In recent years there has been a significant increase in hackathons in the Brazilian public sector, especially between the period from 2012 to 2016, where more than 51 hackathons have been identified. The present study sought to analyze the potential of these events for innovation within the public sector and carried out a research with the managers of the case Hackathon #DesenvolveSC, which was the first hackathon of the Government of Santa Catarina - Brazil. Thus, five government officials were interviewed in order to identify their perceptions regarding the practices of hackathon and changes occurred in the public organization. Santa Catarina began to perceive the need to promote events that provoked the interaction of the state with the citizen and the triple helix, and that through collaborative environments, exchange of experiences, sharing of resources and creation of ideas, encourages solutions to be to fill gaps in the public sector. This process of interaction and collaboration where there is an exchange of information between the internal environment that is the public sector and the external environment is where open innovation occurs. Hackathon is not just a marathon of technological artifact competition, but it is also an open innovation tool perceived by the servers. In addition, the main results indicate the interaction potential that events such as hackathon provide in the ecosystem, not only in connection and support with other state folders, but also with universities and private companies that accompany the marathon in its execution.