Today the Knight Foundation made an award to The Chicago Community Trust to “create apps and other tools to help increase the utility of local government data to benefit community organizations and the broader public.”
The Trust is matching this grant and will provide the combined funds to Smart Chicago so that we can work with the civic tech community in Chicago to deliver on this project.
Here’s a snip from “Rahm’s Latest Accountability Plan: An App That Tracks City Services” on Forbes.com:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel will soon unveil an app Chicago residents can use to request city services—and then track the city’s response—he said this morning in the keynote address at Chicago’s TechWeek 2012 conference.
“We’ve opened up reams of city data for programmers to have at it and come up with the most innovative apps for their fellow residents to use: an app to find a towed car, snow plows, and street closures, an app for 311 calls, including tracking like a fedex shipping order,” he told the gathering of hundreds of digital businesspeople and techies at the Merchandise Mart.
Since 1999, Chicagoans have been able to call 311 to request city services or information. In recent years the service has offered status updates on the web, but Emanuel hopes to implement real-time tracking of citizen requests via a smartphone app as soon as this fall:
“I actually want the ability by by fall, when you call 311 and say you want to get X done—tree trimming, pot holing—you will actually get a tracking number. And so the next time you call it’s not like Groundhog Day at 311. Did they ignore me? Do I start this again? No.
“You may not like where you are in the queue, but you’ll be able to track it. You’ll be able to get information back.”
The Mayor shared this vision of a complete service request view in our recent meeting about the project sponsored by Smart Chicago. More to come!
One of my favorite things here at Smart Chicago Collaborative is working with technology and policy leadership in City government. There is a renewed energy and sense of focus in the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Innovation and Technology, and we help support that in a number of ways.
One way is through our presence at 1871, the digital startup center that is fast becoming a center for civic technology and innovation. Smart Chicago is hosting Brett Goldstein, Acting Commissioner (CIO) and Chief Data Officer, Department of Innovation and Technology, in office hours this Friday, June 15 (one slot left) and Thursday, June 28 (just opened– four spaces available).
Consider meeting with Brett to talk about city technology, city data, big data, and predictive analytics. The world of civic technology is growing, and Chicago is at the center. We need more technologists to work in this field— inside and outside government— to grow the technology industry and make lives better in Chicago.
We have a new opening for a team member here at Smart Chicago. You can view the listing on the job portal of your choice (npo.net or idealist) and/or download a PDF of the listing here.
This is only the third member of our team, so the person who fills this role will have a chance to have a big impact on what we do. Consider applying today!
The Smart Chicago Collaborative has partnered with 1871, the digital startup center located at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, to accelerate civic innovation. We have two reserved seats at 1871 and we seek to fill them with small companies, civic leaders, and community members who are interested in building software using city, county, and state data to improve lives and build businesses.
I will be working there at 1871 a few days a month. Smart Chicago Advisory Board member and City of Chicago Chief Technology Officer John Tolva will also spend some time at the center under the Smart Chicago banner, along with City of Chicago Chief Data Officer Brett Goldstein. We will also bring in staff and leadership from the City and our two other founding organizations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust. Another important component of our work at 1871 will be bringing in community members from all over Chicago to hear directly from them. Our goal is to stimulate the creation of technology that serves the needs of communities while building new businesses on civic data.
We are seeking a limited number of developers, designers, and other makers who would benefit from a few days a month in this unique environment. If you’re interested, complete the form below to initiate the process. We’ve been founding tenants at 1871 and we are happy to offer it as a resource.
The Smart Chicago Collaborative and the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Lab are seeking letters of interest for the design and development of an early childhood education web portal for the City of Chicago.
In order to increase transparency and empower parents, the City of Chicago is partnering with the Smart Chicago Collaborative and the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Lab (UEL) to develop a comprehensive early childhood education web portal. The portal will serve as a one-stop-shop for finding early learning programs, assessing program quality, and tracking data about Chicago’s early childhood systems. With the implementation of the State’s Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS), parents will be able to view each program’s star rating to assess quality across the city. The portal will also help parents understand their child’s eligibility for program, and allow for user interaction/input regarding programs. The portal will be fully operational by the end of July 2012, in time for parents to use it as a resource for the next school year.
This request for letters of interest is the first step in the process of finding a vendor, consultant, or group of consultants for the design and development of the web portal. We are looking for letters of interest that demonstrate an aptitude for and experience in this type of work, as well as some initial thoughts on how to execute it. We welcome letters from design firms, technology outfits, and independent developers who have ideas on how to get this done. The Web Portal Design partner for this project will be required to:
In the letter of interest, applicants should demonstrate experience, aptitude, and capacity in relation to the work described above. In addition, applicants should provide an estimated project timeline and a budget proposal. Letters of interest should not exceed three single-spaced pages, including budget and timeline information, and should be submitted to Dan O’Neil at DONeil@cct.org. Brief bios, CVs, or resumes for key personnel should be submitted with letters of interest and will not be included within the three page limit. Letters are due April 13, 2012.
Earlier this week I visited Harold Washington College, 30 E. Lake, to check on progress for the new public computer center there that is being funded in part by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Public Computer Center grant that is being administered by Smart Chicago. There are already a number of computers available to the public at this location through this grant, and soon there will be a huge addition of public computers in the loop.
There are currently seven computers in the lobby of the building that are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
There are 14 computers on the second floor available to the public and there are stations near the elevators on floors 4, 7, and 10.
Harold Washington College staff are now making plans to make the large, 135-station computer lab available to the public as well. Currently only available to students, this lab will soon have open hours for the public. The room includes printing stations and lab aides who can help troubleshoot any issues.
Stay tuned for more information on these public resources!
As part of our work with the City of Chicago in implementing their Broadband Technology Opportunities Program awards, we make site visits to the various program facilities to see how things are going. Yesterday we got a look at the great things that are planned for Truman College, 1145 West Wilson, in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
Soon there will be a 40-station computer lab in a classroom on the first floor of this location. The lab is planned for the northwest corner of the building:
There are 40 HP Compaq 8200 Elite All-in-One Business PCs ready to go into the computer lab.
The lab is right off of the large lobby, where community activities such as voting and tax preparation are held.
There is currently no public access to computers at Truman College. That’s why we’re excited to help bring more than 40 new public computers to Uptown. Stay tuned for opening information this Spring or early summer.
As part of their commitment to the Smart Communities program and the city’s Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program projects, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation funds research by Karen Mossberger, Ph.D, of the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Public Administration in connection with Smart Chicago’s Sustainable Broadband Adoption grant.
Here’s Dr. Mossberger’s the full report and a snippet from the Executive Summary of Dr. Mossberger’s highly informative report on this innovative program.
The Smart Communities Program aims to build a culture of technology use and digital excellence in five low and moderate-income community areas of the city of Chicago: Pilsen, Humboldt Park, and Southwest Chicago (which is a collaboration between the Englewood, Auburn Gresham, and Chicago Lawn neighborhoods). The program is funded through a $7 million federal Sustainable Broadband Adoption (SBA)1 grant for the purpose of increasing broadband adoption in underserved communities through outreach and training.
This formative evaluation reviews the progress of implementation from the award of the federal grant at the end of March 2010 through June 30, 2011, which is the end of the second quarter of 2011 for purposes of federal reporting. The report is intended to provide information for continuing the process of implementation, for consideration of future projects, and for the later outcome evaluation.
The Smart Communities program consists of several component programs designed to reach multiple constituencies throughout the target neighborhoods:
- FamilyNet Centers for EveryDay Digital training and drop-in assistance; — Technology Organizers within each of the community areas who do outreach and conduct Civic 2.0 training for community organizations;
- Business Resource Networks that offer assessments and assistance for neighborhood businesses with less than 500 employees;
- YouMedia programs for youth established in neighborhood libraries;
- Digital Youth Network after-school programs, with locations in each of the community areas;
- Digital Youth Summer Jobs available to participants from the Smart Communities areas;
- Community Portals supported by portal managers (in each of the 5 communities)
Additionally, these programs are supported by an awareness campaign across the communities, and by an earned computer program that will benefit some of the training participants.
The program is an ambitious one, with multiple organizations and activities spread across five communities. All programs have now been implemented, and most of the programs were operating by the end of 2010. Some were late, however, particularly the awareness campaign, the YouMedia programs, and the Englewood FamilyNet Center, all of which began in late summer of 2011. The delays for these projects were due to contract issues in some cases, although in others there were changes in leadership in collaborating organizations.
Demand for training was higher than anticipated, and waiting lists formed at the FamilyNet Centers as they began to offer classes in late 2010. Centers have devised ways to pace outreach and manage waiting lists, but the training continues to be popular, with few dropouts. The classes are free, and taught in Spanish as well as English. FamilyNet Center participants often have some experience online – a little over half have used the Internet somewhere, and a little over one-third have Internet access at home. But, they report low levels of skill when they enter the programs, and more than one-quarter of the participants have a formal education at the eighth grade level or below. Only 15 percent of participants are currently employed. Other training programs – the Civic 2.0 programs for community organizations – attract residents who have slightly more experience online, as well as others who have no familiarity with technology. Across sites, both staff and consultants spoke about the powerful differences the programs make in the lives of residents, opening new doors and conveying a new sense of empowerment through their Internet skills. By any account, there are many successes evident in the program.
1 The Sustainable Broadband Adoption grants are part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), or broadband stimulus grants of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Last month the Smart Chicago Collaborative, the Code for America Chicago fellows, and our key City partners met with Mayor Rahm Emanuel to discuss our Open311 project. We got some great feedback from the Mayor and we’re excited about moving forward to the next phase of the project. More to come!
Mayor Rahm Emanuel discusses Chicago’s Code for America (CfA) project with Chief Technology Officer John Tolva, the CfA project team, and the Smart Chicago Collaborative. From the Mayor’s left: Ben Sheldon, Code for America, Rob Brackett, Code for America, Daniel X. O’Neil, Smart Chicago Collaborative, Kathleen Strand, Mayor’s Office, John Tolva, Mayor’s Office, Kyla Williams, Smart Chicago Collaborative, Danielle DuMerer, Department of Innovation and Technology, Angel Kittiyachavalit, Code for America, Jesse Bounds, Code for America.