My Takeaways from Civic Spark Day
I woke up on Saturday excited to get to Durham for Civic Spark Day. I'm new to the Triangle and have been eager for some civic engagement to better understand the needs of my neighbors. If you haven't been before, Civic Spark Day is a time for public innovation using open data. Public innovation is a topic I've been increasingly immersed in since my career started in the public sector at the Corporation for National Service, but I am a relative newbie when it comes to the open data movement, so I showed up expecting to learn lots and wasn't disappointed!
What I love about an event like Civic Spark Day is that it offers anyone the opportunity to noodle creative solutions to local problems in a fun and informal setting with folks from different parts of the community, e.g., citizens, public servants, business people, students, retirees, etc. There are no age or experience requirements. This event was organized by Code for Durham, held at Caktus Group, and attended by some seriously interesting (and interested!) people from both inside and outside the Triangle. The pic below and the event's hashtag, #civicsparkday, offers a peak at who showed up to participate.
The Day's Agenda
The plan for the day was nicely laid out, particularly for open data newbies like me. Props go to event coordinators, Laura Biediger (@laura_biediger) and Sam McClenney(@sammcclenney)!
Briefly:
In the first morning session, we zoomed out to look at what Durham is doing on the open data front. Did you know > Durham County Government and the City of Durham have formed an open data partnership, laying the groundwork for area businesses, non-profits, journalists, universities, and citizens to utilize a wealth of public data. Sam indicated it was unique for a city and county to take this step together. More details here.
In the second morning session, we zoomed in to look at Code for Durham's activities and 4 of its current volunteer projects: Adopt a Drain, Food Inspector, School Navigator, Budget Visualization. Did you know > Code for Durham is part of a larger, national network of volunteer groups (aka brigades) called Code for America that was founded by a woman in tech named Jennifer Paulka (@pahlkadot) in 2009. North Carolina currently has 8 Code for America Brigades. More details here.
In the first afternoon session, there was a panel discussion with community leaders (pictured below) - Eric Jackson (@ejaxon), Erin Parish (@erindparish), Noel Isama(@n_isama).
And in the final afternoon session, there was a group discussion on new ideas for future Code for Durham projects, e.g.:
Key Takeaways
Despite not being able to "spark" for the full day (darn it!), I left the event with a greater understanding of and appreciation for #opendata and the #opendata community in North Carolina. Here are my key takeaways, which I'd love for others to poke at/build on/add to:
Triangle citizens place importance on and feel empowered to make a difference in their communities. I was told around 60 people registered for the event, which means that 60 people paid $5 to spend their Saturday working on local problems. And as I looked around the room, it seemed to me that most of these 60 showed up. We were overflowing into the lobby!
The local open data movement is evolving and maturing. Durham has moved from seeing its open data as a raw product to seeing it as an accessible service. It has hired an Open Data Program Manager (event coordinator, Sam). And it's now participating in open data government initiatives like Data.gov and Data.world.
Partnerships and diversity are critical for public innovation. I heard the word partnership cited over and over during the event's presentations as a key to current project momentum and community uptake, and I felt like the energy in the room had a lot to do with the fact that we didn't all look alike, and we didn't all have the same skillsets and backgrounds. From my own innovation practice, I've come to appreciate how such a "masala" can dramatically improve a group's ability to create new value.
Think You Might Want to Get Involved?
If public innovation excites or intrigues you, I highly recommend spending some evening or weekend time with a Code for America Brigade. These brigades need members with all types of skillsets. Some ways that non-technical folks participate include: storytelling, community organizing, advising on projects as a subject matter experts, planning events, and writing copy.
If you're ready to jump in, consider these 3 opportunities as possible entry points:
Attend a Civic Hacking Session: They happen locally every 2 weeks throughout the year. More details here.
Buy an NC Open Pass: You can attend the 3 events that build on today's Civic Spark Day, including CityCampNC (Sept 28-30), All Things Open (Oct 23-24)), and NC Datapalooza (Nov 13). More details here.
Do some reading: There is so much happening around the world to make governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. A large volume of reading material appears with a simple Google search on open data. Perhaps to start, peruse Code for Durham (a local view), Data.gov (a national view), and Open Government Partnership(a global view).
I'll end with a big thank you to Laura, Sam, the Code for Durham volunteers, and the event's many sponsors! I left Civic Spark Day feeling energized and reminded to...
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead
