It also fulfills the United States’ commitments to the Open Government Partnership. The program, formerly run by NASA's Office of the Chief Information Officer, is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and is a part of the Open Government Initiative founded under President Barack Obama.

Participants from around the world can form teams that work to develop solutions through the use of NASA and its Space Agency Partners’ open data over the two-day hackathon event. The NASA International Space Apps Challenge is an event where NASA Subject Matter Experts author challenges relating to real-world problems on Earth and Space and/or current NASA initiatives. Georgia Smart is powered by the Georgia Institute of Technology, along with Georgia Power, Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Association County Commissioners of Georgia, Georgia Centers for Innovation, Georgia Chamber, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Municipal Association, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Technology Association of Georgia, Georgia Planning Association, and the Global City Teams Challenge.Annual NASA global hackathon NASA International Space Apps Challenge Selected communities are provided resources, a partnership with a Georgia Tech research team, networking opportunities, and access to additional, unique partnerships to execute their projects over the course of the year. GA Smart welcomes communities of any size in Georgia to apply for technical and financial assistance that enables them to envision, explore, and plan for their “smart” future. The Georgia Smart Communities Challenge (Georgia Smart) is an award-winning program that empowers smart local development within the State of Georgia.

Global city teams challenge