Tag Archive: Code for DC

Sunshine Week shed a stark light on the state of open government in Washington

by admin Mar 16, 2018 3:50 pm

Washington DC is taking some great steps toward data transparency...but it could do better. And the Trump administration is setting a new low bar for public accountability. Those were some of the highlights of "The State of Open Government," our two-part panel conversation on March 15 in honor of Sunshine Week 2018. If you weren't able to join us last night, here's a short recap of the conversation.

Assessing police use of force data with the help of the Police Foundation

by Julia Billings Mar 8, 2018 1:10 pm

The Police Foundation promotes the use of open data to encourage joint problem solving, enhanced understanding, and accountability between communities and the law enforcement agencies that serve them. We’re excited to join the Sunlight Foundation in 2018 as they empower communities across the nation and share the importance of releasing open police use of force data as part of the 2018 U.S. City Open Data Census.

Join us to discuss the state of open government for Sunshine Week 2018!

by Alex Dodds Feb 28, 2018 9:30 am

Sunshine Week 2018 is coming up! This annual celebration of open government runs from March 11-17, 2018, and we invite you to join us for three events during the week to discuss transparent government at the federal level as well as in the city of Washington DC.

Complete Local Legislative Data

by Rebecca Williams Sep 25, 2013 9:30 am

When we talk about providing a transparent and legible legislative process, the first step is identifying all the moving parts that contribute to the passing of law. In Washington, D.C., this means not just following the city council, but also following D.C.’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, or ANCs, the hyperlocal government entities that advise the city council on community issues. Although the District’s city government structure is uniquely granular, it serves as an excellent model for understanding what a complete legislative data framework should consist of.

National Day of Civic Hacking 2013

by Jeremy Carbaugh, Bob Lannon, Laurenellen McCann, Eric Mill, Paul Tagliamonte, James Turk and Rebecca Williams Jun 4, 2013 4:32 pm

This past weekend, over 11,000 individuals connected under the helm of the National Day of Civic Hacking (NDoCH) -- a series of local #HackForChange hackathons, unconferences, and meeting of the minds that engaged local communities with open data, code, and tech.

From what we can tell, the NDoCH events were magnetic, drawing together participation from local (and traveling) developers, government officials (including a few mayors!), community leaders, and even 21 federal agencies. The vibe of this national organization not only encouraged a sort of: "If you can't hack with the city you reside in, hack with the one you're physically located in," but also further encouraged cross-pollination of civic applications from community to community (For more highlights from the national scene, check out this Storify feed.) Although Sunlight wasn’t able to attend every one of the 95 events held this past weekend, the events we did attend taught us quite a bit. Below, we’ve rounded up our reflections, recaps, and geeky highlights from the festivities in Baltimore, DC, Montgomery County, North Carolina, and Western Massachusetts.