Late last week, Technical.ly’s Rise conference welcomed civic hackers (more on that word choice in a bit) from across the East Coast to share their insights on how to incubate and scale socially conscious, civically engaged tech communities.
It was a lively gathering of civil servants, technologists and creative professionals looking for new ways to lift up where they live.
Prevailing themes included the importance of bringing policy expertise to the table in civic hacking conversations, the freedom to tolerate risk and failure in civic tech ventures (piloted both in and out of government) and the ability of public-private partnerships to leverage the best from both sectors.
Social media stayed active throughout. Here’s what the conversation surrounding the event looked like:
#RiseConf14 has officially kicked off. Civic innovation — let’s transform cities and build communities. pic.twitter.com/s0qBXoBL8L
— Jessica Santana (@JessWorldwide) October 23, 2014
Lots to learn at #riseconf14. Funding, markets, entrepreneurs, civic engagement, innovation, incubators, startups; Thanks @TechnicallyPHL ! — Jovial Researcher (@Jovial_Research) October 23, 2014
Rise opened with our own Christopher Wink interviewing Forbes Editor Randall Lane, who reflected on the Forbes Under 30 Summit and shared his thoughts on how cities should treat college grads and entrepreneurs.
Got a nice shot of @RandallLane & @christopherwink at the #riseconf14 pic.twitter.com/IZnhvJNSsW
— Adam Schmidt (@DrinkerInChief) October 24, 2014
Great opening remarks at #riseconf14 by Randall Lane, Forbes editor. Treat college graduates like LeBron James. — David Thornburgh (@davidthornburgh) October 23, 2014
. @RandallLane speaking about talent attraction/retention in American cities. (Detroit) I plan to move back to Michigan one day #riseconf14
— Megan Threats (@trillscott) October 23, 2014
Agenda for the next 2 days! Great panels. Wonderfully organized. #riseconf14 @TechnicallyPHL pic.twitter.com/FtUxbYzNZ0
— Archna Sahay (@ArchnaSahay) October 23, 2014
RE: Public-Private Partnerships…know your role and do it well! @TechnicallyPHL#riseconf14pic.twitter.com/O5d8zUw8py
— RU FutuRe ScholaRs (@FutureScholars) October 23, 2014
Deborah Diamond of Campus Philly, John Grady of PIDC, Tucker Reed of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Mayor Alex Torpey of South Orange, N.J., and Bret Perkins of Comcast articulated what makes a good, modern public-private partnership. Here are a few themes from the conversation:
- In a good public-private partnership, both sides are able to recognize what they need from each other.
- A good partnership can’t be all things to all people, so set expectations accordingly when dealing with different interest groups.
- The PIDC is more interested in drawing private capital to entrepreneurs than ever before.
4 great examples of public private partnerships: @campusphilly Open Arts @comcast Every Block + Internet Essentials @startupPHL#RiseConf14 — Danielle Cohn (@daniellecohn) October 23, 2014
“Cities are factories for innovation and growth.” – Bret Perkins #riseconf14
— Citizens Campaign (@CitizenCampaign) October 23, 2014
#PassportToTheArts @campusphilly program funded by @KnightArts & @comcast mentioned as a good public/private partnership #RiseConf14 — DonnaFrisbyGreenwood (@DAFrizzG) October 23, 2014
“Who has an idea to change the world” (Hands up) “Who holds an elected position?” (No hands up) #RiseConf14 Pub/Private Partnerships #boom
— Jess Solomazing (@jesssolomon) October 23, 2014
At #riseconf14 master class @jamiemoffett talks abandominiums and subsidized local joints. pic.twitter.com/Sr3MiGEmFJ — Gabriel Farrell (@gsf747) October 23, 2014
Thursday afternoon, the group broke up into Civic Innovation Classes, discussing how to start, connect and accelerate civic innovation communities, while also thinking about the future of technology communities.
Simon Hauger of The Workshop School talked about how he built out an after-school program as his minimum viable product, and used its success to fundraise and launch an alternative senior year program, which led to a high school.
Chief Data Officer Tim Wisniewski said the imperative of the open data movement is now to make it more widely indispensable so that work cannot be undone in the future. He noted hiring more folks on his data team who are working on front end tools, not just .csv downloads.
Bevan Weissman of New American Public Art said he’s new to this kind of civic engagement so his group is still building good habits. The arts, like Culture Tap, help create shared experiences.
I was introduced to @NewPublicArt at #riseconf14 master class and I’m already in <3. #PhillyJazzApp
— Faye Anderson (@andersonatlarge) October 23, 2014
Great conversation on purpose and usefulness of @opendataphilly for civic innovation #riseconf14 — Sarah Cordivano (@mapadelphia) October 23, 2014
.”Go out and try and do good.” -Simon Haugher – Workshop School #riseconf14
— Danielle Cohn (@daniellecohn) October 23, 2014
So impressed by what’s happening @WorkshopSchool, especially innovating *within* the school district. Keep up the good work! #riseconf14 — J.T. (@jawntehrani) October 23, 2014
Good morning, #riseconf14! pic.twitter.com/YXZqSXRwrP
— Alisha Green (@alisha_writes) October 24, 2014
Friday began with a panel on how to make government more transparent, scalably.
- Matt Bailey of Code for DC said we should use the term “civic hacker” not “civic technologist,” because a hacker has the expertise necessary for innovative solutions.
- Mark Headd explained to us that open government is bigger than open data, because it means transparency around how decisions get made and how money is spent.
- Story Bellows of Philadelphia’s Office of New Urban Mechanics argued that pilots launched within government should tolerate risk and have the freedom to fail.
- Alisha Green of the Sunlight Foundation shared best practices for implementing an open data policy.
- Robyn Caplan of GovLab out of NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering explored how we facilitate feedback between government, civic innovators and citizens, using the Open Data 500 as an example.
- Michael Lawrence Evans of the Boston New Urban Mechanics explained how City Hall To Go increases access to government and shared creative place-making projects like Stairs of Fabulousness.
It’s civic hacker, not civic technologist. – @MattBailey0#riseconf14 — Mark Headd (@mheadd) October 24, 2014
“Figure out how to have a tolerance for risk.” –@storybellows on successful innovation and getting things done #RiseConf14
— LEADERSHIP Phila (@LeadershipPhila) October 24, 2014
.@alisha_writes providing attendees at #riseconf14 with a treasure trove of useful info on how to implement opendata program. — Mark Headd (@mheadd) October 24, 2014
Just learned about @DataKind at the #riseconf14
— Scott Pinkelman (@scottpinkelman) October 24, 2014
“@Technical_ly: “Open gov is bigger than open data. It means openness about how decisions get made, how $ gets spent” – @mheadd #riseconf14” — Della Rucker (@dellarucker) October 24, 2014
Love the wedding photo booth in City Hall idea from @newurbanmechs from Boston. #riseconf14 @TechnicallyPHL
— Archna Sahay (@ArchnaSahay) October 24, 2014
From @newurbanmechs Innovative civic ideas:solar powered benches in public spaces.Charge up.Connect. #riseconf14 pic.twitter.com/mysvVgRFIS — RU FutuRe ScholaRs (@FutureScholars) October 24, 2014
“Feedback should be a best practice.” @RobynCaplan of @TheGovLab #riseconf14 #opengov #opendata
— NYU Polytechnic (@nyupoly) October 24, 2014
The only startup community worth building is one that cares #riseconf14 panel @chrisheivly @jongos @RDFoxworth @luliu pic.twitter.com/DHxUSiNP3v — Technical.ly (@Technical_ly) October 24, 2014
Our next panel discussed the latest in social entrepreneurship, or: how to build a business community that cares.
- Jon Gosier of Third Cohort said that scale-able may not be the goal for civic mindedness. Instead, sustainability should be the goal, he said.
- When asked what is essential to incubate a startup community, Chris Heivly of the North Carolina-based Startup Factory said, “Beer.”
- Lily Liu of Public Stuff said millennials prioritize mission over profit in the job search, and she said social consciousness is a business advantage.
- Zoe Selzer McKinley of Philadelphia University said we should create businesses that solve social problems.
- Rodney Foxworth of #SocEnt Breakfast said the key to selling civic tech to municipalities is to pitch them on savings. He pointed to social impact bonds as a way to quantify social impact.
“Profit is a good thing and you should be motivated by it, but you need to have some thought about impact as well” – Zoe Selzer #riseconf14
— Story Bellows (@storybellows) October 24, 2014
RT @christopherwink “Unsolved social problems are market opportunities” @PhiladelphiaU Zoe Selzer #riseconf14 #socent — Megan R. Smith (@MeganRSmith83) October 24, 2014
“Best thing cities can do to stimulate innovation, lower taxes 4 startups not big corporations but startups” @jongos #RiseConf14
— DonnaFrisbyGreenwood (@DAFrizzG) October 24, 2014
“If u want 2 go fast, go alone. If u want 2 go far build a community. Cities need talent” #Lilyliu #RiseConf14 #knightcities — DonnaFrisbyGreenwood (@DAFrizzG) October 24, 2014
“You have to figure out how to convene without the control. We have agenda-less meetings. It’s all about environment” #riseconf14
— Julia (@Meowy_Wowy) October 24, 2014
Ali @rhookinitiative taking the podium #riseconf14 pic.twitter.com/NQ1OyjTEmQ — Jaebi (@imagenat) October 24, 2014
Then a panel took the stage to discuss how to engage diverse communities.
- The Red Hook Digital Stewards shared how they partner with local businesses and organizations to bring wifi to their neighborhood.
- Michelle Lee of Textizen said to consider the culture of the customer when doing outreach.
- Rich Sedmak of Startup Corps said he has the kids in his program work on service businesses as a way of discovering ancillary problems to solve.
- Youngjin Yoo of Urban Apps and Maps warned not to build your product before thinking about the audience.
When doing outreach around digital access: language, visuals AND culture matter – @mishmosh#riseconf14pic.twitter.com/ljCQ4ne5eY
— Corinne (@corinnepw) October 24, 2014
#Access is not only who can text in, but who is involved in decision-making at every level, says @textizen founder Michelle Lee. #riseconf14 — Anna Levy (@SMSGovernance) October 24, 2014
What a great reminder that we should never send any child to a program we would not pay for our own children to attend. #riseconf14
— Phila History Truck (@HistoryTruck) October 24, 2014
Love hearing about entrepreneurship programs for kids. Education is no longer about conformity, it’s about individuality #riseconf14 #Philly — Caitlin Dalik (@caitmarie88) October 24, 2014
Digital Stewards in Philly at the Rise Civic Innovation Conference! Thanks to #technicallyBK #riseconf14 pic.twitter.com/xlaNLrw9Rq
— Red Hook WiFi (@RedHookWiFi) October 24, 2014
@StartupCorps Creative destruction as a means of doing things better- love it! #riseconf14 — Erin Bernard (@erincbernard) October 24, 2014
MT @nyupoly: Great hs students from @rhookinitiative aexplaining how they setup emergency wifi comms during #Sandy! #riseconf14
— AdaptNY (@AdaptNY) October 24, 2014
To close Rise, we heard about creative projects in the civic tech space.
“Who here has been to space?”NYU’s @DanaKarwas‘s new vision of Earth: @satproject at #riseconf14 #NYUinSpace pic.twitter.com/qmeQ4bdYBs
— NYU Polytechnic (@nyupoly) October 24, 2014
.@DanaKarwas is working on @satproject, an amazing huge installation of a live-from-space view of Earth, all using open data #riseconf14
— Cat (@cfarm) October 24, 2014
Wonderful two days at #riseconf14—thanks to @TechnicallyPHL and the great speakers!
— Michael Tedeschi (@mike_tedeschi) October 24, 2014
But we didn’t leave Rise without a preview of what to expect on a skyscraper at Philly Tech Week 2015 from Frank Lee. “I want my next game idea to inspire women to get interested in technology,” he said.
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