Signal
What's on our radar.
Why open source matters for government and civic tech (and how to support it)
The Open Knowledge Foundation and University of Cambridge recently published a must-read and circulate widely report on why open source software matters for government and civic tech and how to support it.
Driving smart city innovation with open sensor data
For many years, open access to data has been viewed as an important means of improving government transparency and accountability and deepening citizen engagement, and today hundreds of local and national governments worldwide are using open data portals to publish data and documents that they produce over the course of their operations.
White House makes open source official, will launch Code.gov to share U.S. government software
The White House released an official Federal Source Code policy that green lights the use and free distribution of software code developed for and by the U.S. Government.
Hacking for Diplomacy – Solving foreign policy challenges with the Lean LaunchPad
Join a select cross-disciplinary class that takes real problems from the U.S. State Department and asks students to use Lean Methods to test their understanding of the problem and deliver rapid-fire innovative solutions to pressing diplomacy, development and foreign policy challenges.
Hack civic hacking
For those of you who identify as civic hackers and are unaffiliated with political, governmental or corporate constraints, you have the good fortune of not needing to adhere to bureaucratic, organizational rules that stunt open, immediate impact and innovation.
Pokémon Go(vernment)
For those focused on civic technology, Pokémon Go shatters the notion that an application whose brand and sole objective is civic-focused may never be as powerful and well-used as one tied into one with a consumer focus.