Code for America

Fellowship Program

Introduction

what is code for america

Code for America Fellowship Program

Code for
America

We believe government can work for the people, by the people in the 21st century.

We build open source technology and organize a network of people dedicated to making government services simple, effective, and easy to use.

Code for America Fellowship Program

5 programs

• brigades
• code for all
• peer networks
• civic startups
• fellowship

Code for America Fellowship Program

Fellowship

Showing what’s possible

Code for America Fellowship Program

Local
governments
apply

• suggest focus area but maybe flexible to let fellows suggest more important focus area
• ready for innovation
• be willing to support fellows on their projects
• have matching fund from community partners

Code for America Fellowship Program

Technologists
apply

• attract developers, user-researchers, designers, policy analysts, people with GIS background
• receive a small stipend for their services as a fellow
• get trainings, mentoring from world-class technologists
• get opportunities to make a difference for communities

Code for America Fellowship Program

Desired
deliverable

at least 1 technology product

Code for America Fellowship Program

Training and
Orientation

What to expect for the next 10 months

Code for America Fellowship Program

Training Topics

• Doing user researching
• Working with government
• Meeting with teammates
• Collaborating on mini project
• and more ...

Code for America Fellowship Program

City Residency

embedded in the city to understand community issues

Code for America Fellowship Program

Local
government

• city council
• economic development
• human services
• animal care services
• and more ...

Code for America Fellowship Program

Communities

• food bank
• haven for hope
• sa2020
• westside development
• and more ...

Code for America Fellowship Program

Ride-along with Code
Enforcement
Officer

experiencing neighborhood issues firsthand

Code for America Fellowship Program

Prototype

overwhelming number of ideas to work on,
which one can we solve with technology?
which one can provide the most impact?

Code for America Fellowship Program

Focus area

• open data
• civic engagement
• neighborhood revitalization

Code for America Fellowship Program

Neighborhood Revitalization

• history
• pride

Code for America Fellowship Program

Bridging The Gap

how do we help city to preserve history and
homeowners to be proud of their houses

Code for America Fellowship Program

I want a better home and better community.

How? Through fixing up my home with

REPAIRS

Code for America Fellowship Program

We want to make sure it's done right
... and help.

How? By administering

PERMITS

Code for America Fellowship Program

The goals are aligned, but we've still got a

DISCONNECT

Code for America Fellowship Program

We want to make the system seem less

COMPLEX

and help it move

FASTER

Code for America Fellowship Program

Build and Test

and iterate

Code for America Fellowship Program

Homebase

Your one-stop shop to fix up your house.

Code for America Fellowship Program

Apply for the

PERMITS

Code for America Fellowship Program

Technology

• Ruby on Rails
• Minimal Javascript
• PostgreSQL Database with PostGIS Extension
• Heroku
• Travis-CI

Code for America Fellowship Program

Door Hangers

Making Code Enforcement tickets make sense.

Code for America Fellowship Program

Share and Deliver

Leaving our legacy

Code for America Fellowship Program

Showing the product to agency

• impress them with something concrete
• tell them how it will save time for their staffs
• show them how it will help the people they serve
• work together to roll out the product
• keep them in the loop at all times

Code for America Fellowship Program

Not just hand the product to IT staffs, hold their hands

• teach them user-centered design
• work with them to understand and use agile development
• have them practice
• continue to coach them until they get it
• get their managers excited

Code for America Fellowship Program

Foster the
new relationships

Guide agency and IT staffs on how they can work together after we leave

Code for America Fellowship Program

Lessons Learned

doing and sustaining something different is always hard

Code for America Fellowship Program

Don't create new project to learn new concepts, add changes to their current assignment instead

• competing priority
• out of sight out of mind
• other departments do not understand

Code for America Fellowship Program

Most of the time it is not about the technology

• use of words and languages are more important
• ordering of choices can make a big difference
• make the process more efficient and effective

Code for America Fellowship Program

We may not see the changes yet, but we have planted the seed

• they have seen what's possible
• it takes a long time for government to make changes
• be patient and don't get discourage

Code for America Fellowship Program

Code for All
Partnerships

variations across the world, focus on country's unique issues

Code for America Fellowship Program

Code for Japan

• 2 types of fellowship
• 1-year fellowship
• 3-6 month short-term corporate fellowship

Code for America Fellowship Program

1-year fellowship

• No focus area, but currently community recovery from Tohoku earthquake and radiation reactor incident
• Stipend paid by national government
• Money from disaster recovery budget

Code for America Fellowship Program

3-6 month short-term corporate fellowship

• Focused on open data and civic technology project
• Paid by companies that send staffs to local government

Code for America Fellowship Program

Local government relies too much on vendors to provide IT solutions

• Operational cost becomes too expensive
• Not motivate to make changes

Code for America Fellowship Program

Code for the
Caribbean

• 6-month fellowship (3 part-time positions with stipend)
• focus area: combating praedial larceny (theft of agricultural produce from the land)

Code for America Fellowship Program

More examples around the world

[ Pakistan ]

[ Germany ]

[ Ireland ] - No fellowship program yet

[ Mexico ]

[ Poland ]

Code for America Fellowship Program

Thanks


@amymok

Code for America Fellowship Program