WASHINGTON D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) co-sponsored "Open Development Camp: Data and Collaboration," an event focused on emerging opportunities to share international development data and on ways to collaborate more constructively. The "open development" approach enables more problem-solvers to address development challenges in a participatory, collaborative and transparent way.

The Open Development Camp's organizers encourage everyone to participate in the discussion by registering at http://opendev.ning.com. Open Development Camp participants have used the site to date to suggest sessions, highlight demand for addressing certain challenges, and to continue the conversations sparked in particular Open Development Camp sessions. You can catch some of the real-time reactions and continued exchange on Twitter under the tag #opendevcamp.

Camp session topics include data visualization platforms, cloud computing, digital brainstorming, and open standards through international development markup language (IDML). All discussions focus on enabling better project planning, creating more searchable and accessible information, and incentivizing participation from the crowd in addressing challenges in developing countries.

The Open Development Camp was sponsored by USAID's Global Development Commons project in partnership with Development Initiatives' AidInfo, the Development Gateway Foundation, Forum One Communications and the World Bank.

"This is a dynamic and deeply innovative format for learning, sharing and creating new knowledge; the complementary communications technology enables us to capture multiple ideas as they emerge," said Diana P. Hoyt of NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program.

USAID's Global Development Commons initiative promotes innovations in international development through knowledge sharing, collaborative problem-solving and partnerships.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years. Learn more about USAID's efforts and catch highlights of the Open Development Camp at www.usaid.gov/commons and at GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net.