Civic technology is tech -- websites, mobile apps, remote sensors, text message notification services, etc. -- that helps people interact with their government. As accessible, well-respected, community-facing government institutions, public libraries are uniquely positioned to promote civic technology in their communities. The Galecia Group can help your library plan and facilitate a successful “civic tech” hackathon for your community.
This “civic tech” hackathon has a focus on inviting local (city, county, state) government technologists and subject matter experts, as well as area residents interested in technology. An “unconference” style of attendee-directed activities can be planned, or organizers can present a specific challenge or topic to focus on.
The Galecia Group can:
- Assist with planning, marketing, and recruiting activities before your hackathon
- Prepare local data sources, skeleton apps, and other “laptop-ready” resources for attendees to work on
- On-site facilitation the day of the hackathon with up to three tracks (one training track and two building tracks or vice versa)
- Advise on follow-up activities, such as strengthening the local civic technology community network
Suggested tracks:
- Building: build an “adopt-a-fire-hydrant” application
- Building: use the “street-mix” tool to plan an ideal pedestrian-friendly street layout
- Building: deploy an “open data” portal for local government data
- Building: build an online map of vacant commercial properties for new businesses
- Learning: introduction to data wrangling
- Learning: introduction to Javascript
- Learning: introduction to Github