Health, economic development plus safety and justice are the three “challenge topics” for the third annual NC DataPalooza, which kicks off on Saturday.

The DataPalooza competition is designed to build a scalable startup idea using open data and covers a 90-day process.

Three finalists teams will pitch to win seed funding in September 2015.

The first step is Saturday’s DataJam Kickoff.

Here are the focus areas:

• Health

The health area focuses on the improvement of health and well being for individuals, their families, and their communities.

Example: Preventing Food-Borne Illness Outbreaks

• Economic Development

The economic development area looks to increase the economic opportunity for individuals and their communities.

Example: Supporting Affordable Housing Placement for Families in Need

• Safety & Justice

The safety & justice area looks to improve areas in communities to prevent individuals from entering and leaving the justice system.

Example: Data Aggregation Across Municipalities (ie: sheriff departments)

Saturday’s opening DataJam includes ideation sessions, a hackathon with data experts, a panel discussion, and judge feedback.

Teams that form during DataJam will then enter the three-month open-data competition.

HQ Raleigh supports the NC DataPalooza. The American Underground is the host.

To learn more and register, visit: http://ncdatapalooza.com/