Technologists: Take a 3-month sabbatical and help build the city’s new website

Looks like that UX design fellowship program announced by the Office of Open Data and Digital Transformation last fall went pretty well because the office is the City of Philadelphia is now seeking new fellows as part of the recently announced Digital Transformation Fellows Program.

The three-month program, which will offer full-time positions this time around instead of part-time contracts, will seek to rally talented technologists to get to work on the office’s pet project, the beta.phila.gov prototype from March to June. Here is the description for each of the roles (click the links to apply):

• The project management fellow will coordinate with more than 60 City agencies to deliver templated one-pagers for City agencies.
• The user experience design fellow will help design major new sections of the beta site.
• The team of content design fellows will work on a major content audit that will inform new strategies around beta’s information architecture and overarching content design.
• The web analytics fellow will analyze web traffic, navigation patterns, search queries and targeted survey results.

The Office of Open Data & Digital Transformation announces the 2017 Digital Transformation Fellows program! https://t.co/Zys95UGpT0

— PHLInnovation (@PHLInnovation) February 7, 2017

“We want to build a city website that provides a dignified, accessible, and effective experience for all Philadelphians,” said Tim Wisniewski, the city’s chief data officer, via Twitter. “This fellowship program allows us to tap into the network of talented, civic-minded professionals in our city to help us get there — without having to ask them to make a career change.

It seems like a smart move on the city’s part, as it can be hard to convince technologists to leave the private sector. Especially, perhaps, after the noise around last year’s bumpy transition. This could be a way to get people hooked on working for city government. Or maybe three months is the ideal time frame?

One passionate supporter of the fellowship program was the City’s former director of civic tech Aaron Ogle, who was part of said bumpy transition:

Tell your boss you need a 3 month sabbatical to serve your city. Short-term gigs in UX, content, PM, and analytics. https://t.co/Dau43I6XEI

— Aaron Ogle (@atogle) February 7, 2017

He even offered to help convince your boss:

Or set up a meeting and I'll do it for you. https://t.co/Sb58ixvNOb

— Aaron Ogle (@atogle) February 7, 2017