May Newsletter | Meet our next Executive Director
Welcome to Code for Canada’s Newsletter Archives.
We send a monthly update on what our team is up to, share our latest blog posts, and offer curated must-reads about civic tech. If we’re hosting an Open House, a Summit or Showcase, you’ll be the first to know.
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We’re excited to introduce Dorothy Eng, Code for Canada’s next Executive Director! Many of you might know Dorothy as our former Director of Partnerships. She’s been with Code for Canada since the beginning and is also a co-founder of Civic Tech Toronto.
Beyond that, we know Dorothy as a compassionate colleague, empowering manager, and supportive team member. She brings her characteristic humour to every interaction and has demonstrated a commitment to listening to partners and working collaboratively to find solutions.
➡️ Learn more about Dorothy on our blog
Dorothy also brings a renewed vision and commitment to Code for Canada’s mission at a pivotal moment for the movement. The challenges brought on by COVID-19 require governments to invest in digital tools to better meet resident needs. Our work has never felt more vital or urgent.
If you’re working (or want to be) at the intersection of technology, design, and the common good, connect with Dorothy! Her inbox is always open: dorothy@codefor.ca, or you can find her on LinkedIn.
Webinar: Rules as Code 💾
The Rules as Code movement is all about formatting government policies in ways that computers can more easily read and interact with. It has the potential to make policy development and implementation more agile and accessible, while also improving service delivery for residents.
If you’re curious about converting policy into code, or want to learn how it could impact your work, join us tomorrow May 5 at 12pm ET to hear from Code for Canada fellows working on an exciting Rules as Code project at Economic and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
➡️ Register for the webinar here
Voices from the team 📣
🌐 Jesse Coleman and Aakash Harpalani, our partners at Toronto Transportation Services, share learnings and advice for others embarking on digital modernization projects. Hear why they decided to build new tools in-house instead of relying on vendors.
🚧 Are you struggling to recruit participants for usability testing or research? Code for Canada fellow Gillian Wu has some tips that might help.
Civic tech in conversation 💬
🔄 What does the lifecycle of a civic tech project look like? In this Twitter thread, Nader Afzalan shares the process from procurement to product launch.
🔥 “People who are doing their best to go from fire to fire, or nearly-a-fire to nearly-a-fire but don’t have the time to figure out how to do fire prevention.” Dan Hon argues that more executive leadership in government around processes will enable better work from teams.
🛠️ In this Twitter thread, Christopher Kennedy discusses the difficulties governments can face when hiring tech talent from the private sector and how civic technologists can help.
The Code for Canada spotlight ☀️
A collage of portraits of civic tech contributors from across Canada, captioned with “Shout it out: proud to be a civic tech volunteer.”
This National Volunteer Week, we spotlighted the amazing people around the country who contribute their time and energy to working on projects, keeping communities active, and hosting regular meetups. Are you interested in joining a civic tech community group or starting your own? Check out the community network.
➡️ Check out all the featured civic tech volunteers on Twitter
Do you know a digital government champion or civic technologist who deserves the spotlight? Let us know, and we might feature them in our newsletter.
What we’re reading 📚
✊🏿 “Although there is a broad acceptance amongst most of us to not be racist, there is a need to become actively anti-racist.” Ryan Spencer and Derek Eder from Chai Hacknight examine what it means to be anti-racist in civic tech and provide resources for further learning.
📜 The recent Federal Budget provides more funding to repair and replace government IT systems. Bianca Wylie looks at the digital rights and public service ethics we must keep in mind while doing so.
🌻 “Why is it that in one context, the development and delivery of a digital service takes off, and in another, it grinds to a halt?” John Kenney explores how to enable the conditions for better digital service delivery.
🏥 When governments take a human approach to public communication, residents respond. GovTech news highlights Ottawa Health’s use of humour and empathy to build trust through open and honest conversations.
Civic tech job alerts 💼
Looking for an opportunity to use your digital skills to make it easier to access and use government services? The Canadian Digital Service is hiring for multiple roles, including developers, project managers, designers and policy specialists.
Interested in digital infrastructure for public transit? Pantonium is looking for an iOS Developer to support their work helping Canadian cities use on-demand service to improve rider experiences.
Toronto Community Housing is looking for a Manager of Data Governance and Research. Use your skills to tackle issues of poverty, affordable housing, and community revitalization in Toronto.
Let us know what you think 💡
We’re big believers in putting users first. So, if you have any thoughts on our newsletter, or how we could improve it, please take a minute to fill out this survey. We also respect your privacy, so all answers are anonymous. Thank you!
We’re Code for Canada, a national non-profit working to build digital capacity in government and civic capacity in Canada’s technology and design community. In other words, we help people use tech and design for good!
If you’d like to learn more about our organization, our people or our programs, visit our website, check out our blog, or reach out to hello@codefor.ca.
