At Code for America and Civic Commons, we’re a small team with a big mission: we’re trying to change the way governments work, the way they leverage technology, and the way they interact with citizens. We think central to that effort is developing a deep understanding of the current environment — specifically around their use [...]

As cities are facing growing demands and shrinking resources, they have to find new ways of solving problems. Change by Us, a new digital platform that enables citizens to collaborate on projects for city improvement themselves, is a promising model of a new kind of civic engagement. Launched in New York City earlier this year, [...]

Earlier this year, Cook County released “Look at Cook,” a budget visualization tool to help citizens understand how the county spends taxpayer dollars. As the site says, residents “keep asking, ‘Where exactly does our money go?’” Look at Cook attempts to help answer that question with spending breakdowns by area and year, as well as [...]

The nation’s new Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel unveiled on Tuesday his “Future First” agenda, which emphasized the need to change the way government procures software and sets policy: In the end, we can’t build a 21st century government without fundamentally changing how we invest in technology. Traditionally, it has taken years for an IT solution to move [...]

This morning the New America Foundation released a comprehensive Gov 2.0 report about how California’s local governments are using technology to connect with the public and improve services. “Hear Us Now? A California Survey of Digital Technology’s Role in Civic Engagement and Local Government” is a survey of 41 different innovations from across the state, [...]

New York City is launching a new option for transportation: Bike Share. Instead of hopping into a cab or jumping on the subway, you’ll soon be able to grab a bike from one of the self-service bike docking stations around town. It’s a system that’s gaining increasing popularity in metropolitan areas including Boston, Washington, and [...]

As we’ve previously written, there are many advantages for governments if they open up their data, ranging from visualizations and better decision-making to citizen engagement and broader awareness. A challenge, however, lies in the process of opening it up — and not just technically. As has been pointed out, a difficult question is, “Where to [...]

Civic Commons exists to help governments share technology, and over the next few months, we’re in the process of building a literal “Commons” — an online marketplace to connect government officials with the knowledge about the civic technology they need. We believe a robust marketplace can disrupt the way governments are currently using technology, making [...]