5 Things I learned about #CivicTech at #CODS17

Nick Scott
Jul 24, 2017 · 2 min read

In my work advancing networked governance, open government, and public sector innovation I often say to governement: there are citizens out there with their hands in the air ready to help solve public problems.

Any organization successfully innovating in the 21st century recognizes that “not all smart people work for us” and therefore must find ways of working with external actors, experts and end-users to create value. Enter Code For Canada: a new Canadian non-profit that seeks to bring government innovators and civic technologists together to make life better for Canadians.

For years civic technologists have been meeting in community spaces, libraries, and coffee shops building a movement of citizens with design and coding expertise and building tech projects that solve public challenges.

So what is CivicTech? Here are five things I learned at the Canadian Open Data Summit:

  1. CivicTech is a way of meetinng people who are different from you, learning from them, collaborating with them & empathizing with them;
  2. CivicTech is a fun and interesting way of practicing, iterating, & creating value (including monetization);
  3. CivicTech is a way of solving problems governments want to solve but haven’t been able to;
  4. CivicTech is a way of developing your skills, building a network and giving back;
  5. CivicTech is a space, platform & incubator with wifi & 🍕!

If you are in New Brunswick and want to learn more. Check out the Open Houses July 24 and July 25th!