Yearly Archives: 2013

A New Age in America

Changes Afoot Last year when we (Code for America) began officially supporting civic startups. We created a program to support companies that build tool that help government work more effectively and transparently. We call it the Code for America Accelerator. Ever since then our organization, and our officespace, has become a hotbed of entrepreneurial energyRead… Read more »

Lean Startups and the Rise of Iterative Placemaking

View from M@dison Building rooftop overlooking Grand Circle Park, in Detroit, Michigan. Sometimes, when people hear “Code for America” they might assume that we fellows are all computer programmers, but quite a few of us have backgrounds in architecture, urban design, city planning, community organizing, transportation, and housing policy. And we are metaphorically tied toRead… Read more »

New Sensation with Rob Caballero, Willamette University MBA

Since ELGL is not a big fan of icebreakers and since we would rather not know what animal you want to be, this blog feature will serve as a means of introducing new members. While you won’t learn about their favorite animal, you will learn about their ideal Sunday morning, which dead people would theyRead… Read more »

Why I Love WebSockets

By Scott Mattocks When I was in school, passing notes took some effort. First, you needed to find a piece of paper that was large enough for your message, but small enough that it could be folded into the requisite football shape. Next, you had to write something. Anything smaller than several sentences just wasn’tRead… Read more »

The brain-and-heart-trust

At a Chinese restaurant last weekend, my fortune cookie read: You are a deep thinker and a good problem solver. I was flattered by my cookie’s opinion, but the thought that sprang to mind was that the fortune was an excellent description of the Code for America board. Many non-profit boards serve primarily a governanceRead… Read more »

Thank You, Brigade

April is National Volunteer Month and right now it’s National Volunteer Week. The point of “National…Month/Week/Day” recognitions like this is, well, recognition. Volunteers give their time every day. It’s now time to say, Thank You. And, we best honor our volunteers when we can tell them, and everyone, “Here’s what your contributions did last yearRead… Read more »

The Three C’s Of CPIC Success at TSA

By Robert Nau With budgets and resources stretched more than ever, portfolios are under fire to demonstrate the value of their investments through sound business cases. One way to show soundness is to demonstrate the business cases are compliant and coherent. But how is this accomplished? Based on my experience supporting teams through many CapitalRead… Read more »

Federal Technology Spending Expected to Increase in 2014

Posted originally on Federal Technology Insider. Earlier this month, President Obama submitted the annual budget for fiscal year 2014 to Congress. Despite much discussion on federal spending cuts, the Obama administration requested a $2 billion increase in federal IT spending. According to Steve VanRokel, federal CIO, the key takeaway is that investment in IT willRead… Read more »