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The latest news from Code for Canada, and updates on the country's growing civic tech movement.
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Why smart cities need smart people
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The smart cities conversation has often focused on new technologies -- self-driving cars, connected sensors, distributed ledgers or machine learning algorithms -- while glossing over the human element of innovation. Our new discussion paper, co-published with Evergreen Canada, includes nine recommendations for smart cities leaders, including strategies to help them engage with residents, enable public servants and empower community members to leverage those new technologies to solve local challenges.
Read our latest blog post to learn more about the relationship between smart cities and smart people, and register for our upcoming webinar on March 20 for an opportunity to engage with some of the experts who contributed to our discussion paper.
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Aaron Snow is the new CEO of the Canadian Digital Service
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After an extensive global search, the Canadian Digital Service has found its new CEO: Aaron Snow! Aaron’s digital government resume is extensive to say the least: he is a co-founder and former Executive Director of 18F, the United States Government’s 200-person digital services team, he served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow under President Barack Obama, and sits on the the OpenGov Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Join us in welcoming Aaron to Canada; we can think of few people more qualified to drive digital transformation in the federal government. With a team of Code for Canada fellows currently embedded with the Canadian Digital Service, we look forward to working with you!
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Ontario is seeking service design and user experience vendors
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Last year, the Government of Ontario released the alpha version of its Digital Service Standard, a new set of guidelines for delivering simpler, faster and better services for residents. As part of its efforts to meet that standard, the province has launched a Request for Bids (RFB) for service design and user experience vendors. Successful applicants will become vendors of record and work with government teams to engage users, scope problems and quickly test potential solutions.
It’s great to see governments like Ontario recognize how important skills like service design and UX research are to building great digital tools, and to see them reach out to external partners who can help close some of those knowledge gaps.
If you’re working in the fields of service design or UX -- as a solo entrepreneur, part of a startup, or at an established firm -- and want to apply your skills to the kind of complex and meaningful challenges that governments address every day, then consider applying. The deadline is April 6, 2018.
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RightsCon is coming to Canada
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After stops in Silicon Valley, Rio de Janeiro, Manila and Brussels, one of the world’s foremost digital rights conferences is heading to Canada! Access Now is bringing RightsCon to Toronto from May 16-18, 2018.
The event is a gathering for the global digital rights community, meaning there will be thousands of participants and plenty of experts touching on issues like innovation policy in Canada, free expression and protection of global journalism, gender diversity and digital inclusion, cybersecurity and more! Code for Canada will be attending RightsCon Toronto, and we hope to see you there!
Tickets are available here, and you can subscribe to the RightsCon Rundown for updates on the conference, including new speakers and side events!
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CODE FOR CANADA
Code for Canada members among the Top 30 women in Toronto's tech scene
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Both Code for Canada’s Fellowship Program Manager, Lia Milito, and new board member, Ria Lupton, were included in the Ryerson DMZ’s list of the Top 30 women in Toronto’s tech community!
We’re inspired every day by Lia and Ria’s leadership and ingenuity, so it’s wonderful to see them recognized for their work, and for their commitment to making Toronto’s tech scene more inclusive. It’s also great to see their names on a list that includes not only amazing women from startups and private companies, but also non-profits, social enterprises and governments that harness tech and design for the common good.
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CIVIC TECH NEWS
Celebrating three years of ‘Government as a Platform’ in the U.K.
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Nearly three years and 200 services later, the U.K.’s Government Digital Service is reflecting on the success and lessons of adopting ‘Government as a Platform.’
Coined by Tim O’Reilly in 2010, Government as a Platform (or GaaP) refers to a common set of digital systems, technologies and processes on which governments can build reliable, simple and user-centric services. The approach has become a mainstay of successful digital government projects around the world.
All week, GDS will be blogging about success stories stemming from GaaP. The posts contain lessons and inspiration for anyone engaged in digital transformation in the public sector, so check them out!
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Some light civic tech reading
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- If you want to find out what happens when when 100 coders, public servants, civic tech practitioners, open data champions and engaged residents get together, check out this recap of CodeAcross Toronto by international civic tech writer Aaron Wytze Wilson.
- Atlantic reporter James Bridle takes a sprawling tour through the promises and pitfalls of digital citizenship, gesturing towards a world where citizenship and residency are offered as an online service.
- The team at Civtech St. Louis helped reduce the burden on their local courts system by designing a website and text tool for individuals to easily access information about their outstanding traffic tickets. In a blog post for Living Cities, the people behind the project strategies for doing user research and how to “build with, not for” residents.
- Across the pond, Matt Prosser speaks to U.K. Authority about how local governments can collaborate with one another to make it easier to shed legacy IT systems and adopt new technologies.
- Laura James at doteveryone has compiled a master list of oaths, pledges and manifestos for the ethical use of technology.
- Civic tech is for pets, not just people! Learn how Bloomington, IN collaborated with its local civic tech group to create a Twitter bot for the municipal animal shelter.
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GET INVOLVED
How you can help
We're working hard to ensure governments across our great country keep pace with technology and deliver the best services possible for their residents. But we can't do it alone. Here's how you can lend a hand.
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1. Help spread the word! Follow Code for Canada on social media, and share our efforts to grow the civic tech movement!
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2. Share your stories! Are you a government innovator or civic tech practitioner with a success story to tell? Let us know, and we can share it with our audience of engaged residents, public servants, community advocates and technologists! You can get in touch at hello@codefor.ca!
3. Join your local civic tech group! You can find the one nearest you on our website. If there’s not one near you, Code for Canada’s Civic Tech Toolkit can help you start one!
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Thank you to our partners!
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