Several weeks ago, we launched the beta version of Engagement Commons, a collaboratively-built catalog of technology for civic engagement. The response we’ve received from the community since the launch has been heartening. It’s clear that Engagement Commons is addressing an important problem, and its mission — to help city officials and civic leaders discover newRead… Read more »
Everyone has worked with a Ron Swanson — a stonewalling figure resistant, if not downright hostile, to change. Though the Parks and Recreation character presides over the operations of a fictional Indiana township, this figure isn’t unique to city governance. Any public or private organization of a certain size and bureaucratic complexity has at leastRead… Read more »
2012 is turning out to be a big year for Code for America. Earlier this year, we launched two new programs to help bring technology innovation to bear on the challenges facing governments – our Civic Accelerator and Code for America Brigade. Both of these new programs will play an important role in complementing andRead… Read more »
As our team of three Philadelphia fellows met with city officials and local organizations across the city, we heard the number 42 over and over. No, we weren’t hitchiking across the galaxy. Forty-two is the percentage of Philadelphians without home internet access according to a 2010 poll by the Pew Internet & American Life ProjectRead… Read more »
Sometimes simply talking about a concept doesn’t do it justice. Often it takes seeing something tangible to drive the point home. While we talk about agile development and more effective use of technology in addressing civic issues, when we see it in practice we begin to see what is actually possible, and understand the powerRead… Read more »
When we started working on Brigade we were really excited and we got a lot of other people excited, too. We burst onto the scene with a bunch of activity and a web site. Meaningful, sustainable outcomes emerged from our initial sprint. Open San Diego deployed Azavea’s Open Data Catalog and now there are 413Read… Read more »
Like any field of work – or movement, depending on how you view this agenda – digital open government has its good days and its bad days. A bad day is when a state makes it easier to fight requests to release information. A good day is when government adopts policies and practices that willRead… Read more »
Last week, Good Magazine featured the launch of our Civic Startup Accelerator, which prompted a bunch of tweets — mostly supportive, some curious, but one however caught my eye: Peace Corps meets VC meets Silicon Valley. But why not just work for a startup? bit.ly/Js0TH5 — Chase Adam (@ChaseAdam17) May 12, 2012 Basically it’s theRead… Read more »
Like many of you, I use the Google Maps application on my smartphone, a lot. Whether I need to locate the nearest convenience store or find the closest BART stop, having a map in my hand with a realtime “you are here” dot is an incredible convenience. And there are now a huge variety ofRead… Read more »
People often ask me about various innovative efforts to change America’s voting rates, habits, or options. There is a ton of interesting experimentation happening here, from TurboVote to ElectNext to Americans Elect. I haven’t dug in deeply to any of these projects, but it’s clear they are offering some new thinking to a deep andRead… Read more »