Director’s Update

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who participated in our first ACT Congress. The joy of these unconference events is that you never quite know where the conversations are going to go. I appreciate people’s willingness to take on hard topics and ideate on how we can make this community and our country better.

The next big event on our calendar will be CityCamp starting in the fall and culminating in World CityCamp Day on September 20th.  CityCamp is a global movement of community-focused events that foster civic collaboration and innovation. These events bring people together to improve their communities. ACT is an organizing partner with CityCamp with Nicole Dan from Florida Community Innovation leading efforts on our side.

With the passage of the One Big Bill, we’re looking at drastic cuts to the social safety net including food assistance, Medicaid, and healthcare. Community organizations and local governments will be on the front lines working to stem the damage. They’ll need support.

CityCamp will provide us an opportunity to bring local government officials, technologists, and community organizations together to find ways to enable the work of taking care of each other.

New Board

ACT is pleased to announce the results of our first Board Election! This election expanded our board from three to five. Our new ACT board is:

  • Harlan Weber, Code for Boston
  • Noel Hidalgo, BetaNYC 
  • Nicole Dan, Florida Community Innovation
  • Brianda Hernandez, Open Sacramento
  • Aslan French, Open Austin

New Member

Civic Tech DC has joined the Alliance of Civic Technologists as our 18th member! Founded in 2012, Civic Tech DC is a non-partisan, non-political group of volunteer civic hackers working together to solve local issues and help people engage with the city.

Network Roundup 

Here are some quick notes about what’s been happening in the network!

Ice Cream Summer Social

Get ready to beat the heat with Open Austin! This year on Thursday, July 17th they’re partnering with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams to serve up some yummy ice cream, in celebration of the 300+ volunteer hours spent in Q1 building tech for good.

In addition, this annual event is being used as a fundraiser for two Civic Data Fellows, starting in mid-August. To support Open Austin’s campaign you can buy a raffle ticket, make a tax-deductible donation, get some Grassroots Civic Hacker merch, or just enjoy some ice cream! 25% of all ice cream sales during the summer social will be donated by Jeni’s to Open Austin.

Civic Hack DC 2025

On Saturday, July 26 from 9:30 AM to 6:30 AM ET, ACT’s newest member, Civic Tech DC, is bringing together engineers, designers, policy pros, and curious minds for a one-day hackathon focused on making federal rulemaking more transparent. They’ll be building open-source tools to unlock and explore public comment data from Regulations.gov, because civic tech can and should make the government easier to understand and participate in. No matter your background, there’s a place for you. They’ll provide the food, data, and mentors, so you just need to bring your ideas and a laptop.

Intro to Florida Community Innovation

Curious about how civic tech is making a difference in Florida communities? Join FCI, on Wednesday, July 16th, for their Introduction to Florida Community Innovation! This virtual session is a great way to learn how Florida Community Innovation is using technology, community input, and public sector collaboration to improve civic life across the state. They’ll walk through their approach and share the exciting projects featured within their handbook. Whether you’re new to civic tech or just want to experience their amazing work, this is a great place to start!

Civic Data Fellowship

Open Austin is actively recruiting for their 2025 Civic Data Fellowship, starting this month! If you’re a novice data analyst with low-to-no professional experience, the program will pair you with experienced mentors, to learn how to work with local advocacy groups to explore local civic issues, while building professional presentations and data-driven projects. If this sounds like a good fit, please fill in this interest form, before August, to receive alerts about info sessions, key dates, and submit the application form. For more information, read this brochure.

Upcoming Events

07/17 - Summer Town Hall

What’s next for civic tech and for ACT? Let’s figure it out together!

Join us on Thursday, July 17th  for our ACT Summer Town Hall, a relaxed and collaborative space for members old and new to shape the future of the Alliance of Civic Technologists. Whether you’ve been part of ACT since day one or you’re just getting started, this is your moment to speak up, connect, and co-create. We’ll share what’s working, surface what’s not, and spark ideas together, with real conversations and community-led energy.

RSVP now to be part of the conversation and help steer where we go next. Together, let’s make this summer count.

9/20 - World CityCamp Day

We’re thrilled to announce that plans for the Alliance of Civic Technologists’ first CityCamp are nearly complete! CityCamp is an “unconference” designed to bring together technologists, nonprofit leaders, and local government stakeholders to collaborate on innovative ways to improve our cities. This fall, we’ll be hosting a series of CityCamp events across the country, leading up to World CityCamp Day on September 20, 2025. If you’d like to be a part of shaping this exciting initiative, please contact Nicole from our Events Committee by email.

Network Events 

Some events happening in the Alliance of Civic Technologists network across the United States, for the next month, from July 10th to August 7th!

Beyond ACT 

Events from groups that aren’t officially a part of the Alliance of Civic Technologists network. 

Stay in Touch

Interested in chatting with the community, in real time? Join our public Discord server!

Does your local civic tech organization have a story to tell? Want to be featured in our next newsletter? Reach out to us at hello@civictechnologists.org.