Apps for Philly Democracy

If you didn’t see, we officially locked down City Hall as a scenic locale for our ideation kick-off. AND we get to have beer. We’re slowly making open government even more open. You’ll need an RSVP to get in the door, so head over to meetup to sign up if you haven’t already. There’s a good discussion on open government and civic hacking—what does it mean, what should it look like, and what is the role we play as a community? Apps for Philly Democracy is a good place to think about the democratic process and how we might improve it. Even if you can’t come to the rest of the hackathon, bring your ideas to the kick-off event, or share your thoughts at our next weekly hack night. If you have suggestions for potential judges, content experts, contacts for data sets or problem statements, sponsors, or want to help organize the event (or know someone who might) contact Chris or Dawn.

Hacking Hack Night

We’ve brought back Civic Hacking 101 for first-timers to help welcome newcomers, but is there more we can do to improve the Code for Philly experience? In some brigades, rather than working on a defined project members lead topic-based discussion groups. Other brigades have what they call a “code clinic” where members don’t work on any single project, rather they act as sort of service desk for other projects. We’ve also experimented with having a dedicated space for project ideation at the meetup. If there’s something you’ve been wanting to see or try out, don’t be shy! Find a core team member at hack night or send feedback through contact. Hint: Discuss is another good way of getting a conversation going:]

Looking for Impact Stories:

Our friends at Open Access are on a mission. We have an impressive civic tech scene. Just about anyone here would argue that we’re the best in the country—whether it’s true or not because, after all, we’re from Philly. With that passion and pride is a story. How did you get involved with the civic tech community? How did life change after that? OAP wants to collect and share “impact stories” to inspire even more great work in the civic tech sphere. Share a brief story with OAP by emailing Yuriy or Sarah.

Want to do More at Code for Philly?

Sure, you enjoy coming to the weekly hack nights, who doesn’t? But maybe you think Code for Philly is pretty much the bees knees and want to get more involved. Neato, because we think you’re pretty swell too. Any way you want to help we want to hear it. Whether it’s writing a blog post here or there, leading issue-based discussions during the hack night, organizing refreshments outside of the pizza food group, or a new idea you want to try out. Feel free to find an organizer at the next meetup or get in touch through the contact feature.