“I don’t know how much more emphasized step 1 of refactoring could be: don’t touch anything that doesn’t have coverage. Otherwise, you’re not refactoring; you’re just changing shit.” – Hamlet D’Arcy It’s no secret that Agile and Lean methodologies have a lot in common. At Code for America we try to apply them both: inRead… Read more »
Just a little over six weeks ago, we opened up applications for the CfA Startup Accelerator. Honestly, when we did, we thought we would receive maybe a dozen or two applications. We weren’t sure if folks would know what we meant by “civic,” or be able to hear about it soon enough to apply; orRead… Read more »
Since 2011, federal agencies have surveyed Americans’ access to broadband on BroadbandMap.gov. In addition to visualizations on their website, you can download shapefiles for each state. When I first searched for Macon (my CfA partner city), I saw that most of the city was covered by multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs). What surprised me wereRead… Read more »
Citizen feedback is essential to a healthy democracy. But holding in-person meetings can be expensive, time-consuming, and often don’t capture representative feedback. For many residents — such as those who work hours other than 9-to-5 — the two+ hours required to attend a community meeting in person can be a significant barrier to participation. AfterRead… Read more »
Jed Sundwall talks Open San Diego’s creation story, deploying an Open Data Catalog with 400+ city datasets, and the need for promotion. How do you tell the origin story of Open San Diego? I’d been working on social media strategies for USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov and got a front row seat to a lot of theRead… Read more »
Problem: Limited glass recycling options in New Orleans Engagement: 169 Neighbors posted on Neighborland that they “want the ability to recycle glass in New Orleans.” Solution: Local business, Phoenix Recycling, discussed this desire on Neighborland and launched a program to collect local glass to use for construction projects. In my very biased assessment (I workRead… Read more »
As a Code for America Fellow, as an open data advocate, and as a civic hacker, I was thrilled to read the new Digital Government Strategy that was released by the White House last week. This plan sets out practical steps and milestones that will ensure every federal agency embraces the “government as a platform”Read… Read more »
Why is it so hard for governments to adopt innovative new technologies? Why does the public sector lag so far behind the private sector in leveraging new technology to create efficiencies? As an organization that works at the intersection of government and technology, these are questions we hear a lot at Code for America. ThroughRead… Read more »
This post is part of an ongoing series about civic startups. What’s a civic startup? Find out. Code for America recently launched a civic startup accelerator to help promote and “turbo charge” civic startups. We’re accepting applications for the accelerator now through June 1, 2012. Apply: codeforamerica.org/accelerator Charles “Chic” Naumer is the Principal and Co-founderRead… Read more »
With the sheer number of civic hackathons starting to reach a critical mass, some are asking whether the energy and drive embodied by these events can be directed to reusing existing applications or projects started at earlier events. This is an important issue, as some projects worked on at civic hacking events aren’t actively pursuedRead… Read more »