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Code for America launches seed Bay Area accelerator with support from Mayor Michael Nutter

Civic hackers may now have a chance to move beyond the occasional weekend hackathon. Code for America, the civic programming organization that has sent delegations of fellows to Philadelphia two years in a row, is launching a civic hacking seed accelerator to “disrupt the massive $140 billion government IT market and provide new and better […]

The founders of Launch Lane's inaugural cohort. (Courtesy photo)

Civic hackers may now have a chance to move beyond the occasional weekend hackathon.

Code for America, the civic programming organization that has sent delegations of fellows to Philadelphia two years in a row, is launching a civic hacking seed accelerator to “disrupt the massive $140 billion government IT market and provide new and better services to citizens,” according to a release.

Click here to apply.

The new accelerator will be based at the organization’s headquarters in San Francisco, but it has the support of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who recently hasn’t found a technology event he doesn’t like. (Yes, he’ll be a unique judge addition to the Switch Philly showcase during Philly Tech Week, which also includes Josh Kopleman and five of Philly’s strongest new ventures.)

“As a two-time Code for America city, Philadelphia has embraced the civic hacker spirit and sees great benefit in technologies that increase the value of citizenship. The Code for America Accelerator can support and scale these kinds of technology innovations across the country,” said Nutter in a release.

Code for America intends to select three to five early stage civic startups from all over the country to join a long list of mentors from all over the tech field for four months beginning in August. Each startup will be granted $25,000 as well as access to CfA’s office space for the duration of the program.

The organizers boast the accelerator is the first of its kind.

Here is the list of mentors, from a release:

  • Startup/Business: Carl Tashian, Christian Crumlish, Danese Cooper, David Binetti, Denise Gershbein, DJ Patil, Manish Shah, Parker Thompson, Ted Rheingold, Christie George
  • Investor/VC: Andrew Parker, Bryce Roberts, Cali Tran, Gil Penchina, Jeff Clavier, Robert Goldberg
  • Civic/Goverment: Andrew Hoppin, Chris Osgood, Dominic Campbell, Jay Nath, Jeff Freidman, John Tolva, Marci Harris, Nigel Jacob, Ryan & Mike Alfred, Steve Ressler, Sumit Agarwal

Code for America says it is targeting startups that either a) provide services on top of open government data b) bring modern web technologies directly to governments; c) change the way citizens ask for, receive, or need services from government.

Startup applications are due June 1, 2012.

Click here to apply.

 

 

Companies: Code for America
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