Health data is one of those no-brainer transparency issues. While we all have our favorite datasets we want to see released, the Department of Health and Human Services has the capacity to save lives and billions of dollars when it releases its data.

I spoke with Todd Park, the CTO of HHS about his plans, and he asked if there was a way to get developers interested in data from the Agency. Thanks to the Open Government Directive– which encourages agencies to participate in “innovation contests,” a pretty easy fit occured to the both of us: HHS should have a category in Design for America.

So that’s what we’re going to do.

The Department of Health and Human Services has released its Community Health Data Initiative — data that speaks to the health of local communities. With this data, you can have a heck of an impact. Imagine a world where policy makers and citizens have visual access to the health of their communities, and can compare it to their neighbors or the national average. Or one where companies can get a better view of a community before it makes a substantial investment in an area. What if there were digital dashboards hung up in every hospital across the country?

We’re pleased to have HHS involved in Design for America— a great experiment in working with government to open up. So, go ahead and look at the Design for America category description on our Contest Page and start your engines.