The 8th annual National Day of Civic Hacking took place on Saturday, September 12, 2020.

National Day of Civic Hacking

This year’s impact

Code for America and the Network brought together civic leaders, public servants, designers, coders, and engaged citizens to partner with local government and community groups to tackle some of our toughest challenges. The day of collective action focused on helping those most in need of social safety net services during COVID-19.

1,000+
people joined us for National Day of Civic Hacking 2020
40+
Brigades participated throughout the day
70
design audits worked on
15
asset maps created
9
problem statements generated

Actions for the day


We organized three actions for People Over Paperwork. Want to complete one of these actions with your Brigade, or just learn more? Find links below to each project’s slide deck.

1. Complete a design audit of your benefits application

Learn more

2. Build a local asset map to support and empower your community

Learn more

3. Generate insights around COVID-response problem statements

Learn more


Learn more about the actions

Code for America Network and the Social Safety Net

During the global pandemic, alongside Code for America’s work to increase access to social safety net services through Integrated Benefits,GetCalFresh, and GetYourRefund, the Network and Brigades have responded to COVID-19 in force. In particular, Brigades have worked with local partners and created projects to help families find food during the pandemic, help nurses report needs in their hospitals, and track the status of healthcare providers during disaster. These tools and similar ones created by the Network are being used by Brigade communities to fight the pandemic; we can build on this energy and increase our impact. Through collective efforts on the National Day of Civic Hacking, we can raise up and amplify projects from around the country and focus our collective energy to move the needle on key actions.

Schedule

12pm ET/ 9am PT
Kick-Off Event

Join a panel of leaders from Code for America, the SF-Marin Food Bank, and the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities discuss the current state of the social safety net as the impacts of COVID-19 continues, approaches to strengthening it for those who need it most from grassroots to government at all levels, and what’s on the horizon.

Amanda Renteria
Chief Executive Officer, Code for America
Meredith Horowski
Senior Director, Brigade Network, Code for America
Tracey Patterson
Senior Director, Social Safety Net, Code for America
Veronica Young
Senior Program Manager, Brigade Network Program, Code for America
Jennifer Wagner
Director of Medicaid Eligibility & Enrollment, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Liliana Sandoval
Senior Program Manager, CalFresh Outreach, SF-Marin Food Bank
1pm ET/ 10am PT
Breakouts by Action
2pm ET/ 11am PT
Join Your Brigade’s Zoom/ Working Time
4pm ET/ 1pm PT
Check In
4:30pm ET/ 1:30pm PT
Working Time Continues
6pm ET/ 3pm PT
Close

Find your local Brigade event


Are you a part of a Code for America Brigade?

Access this year's toolkit here, and start learning more about how you and your Brigade can get started preparing for National Day of Civic Hacking. Questions? Reach out: brigade-info@codeforamerica.org.


Partnership Opportunities 

Are you an organization in the social safety net? Interested in how hundreds of volunteers including  civic leaders, public servants, designers, coders, and data scientists can help advance your work? Get in touch to learn more about partnering on this year’s National Day of Civic Hacking. Contact brigade-info@codeforamerica.org.


Learn More

For more on Code for America and the Network’s efforts around the social safety net and COVID-19:

Sponsors

Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College
Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Georgetown University
Northeastern University School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

About Code for America

Code for America makes government work for the people, and by the people, in the digital age, starting with the people who need it most. We build effective, easy-to-use digital services that improve government systems, and we help others do the same across all levels of government. We organize thousands of active volunteers across more than 80 chapters nationwide to improve government in their local communities. Our goal: a 21st century government that effectively and equitably serves all Americans.