Advice for Starting in CivicTech / GovTech
“More Than ‘Good Enough for Government Work’” // Updated November 2021: Overview of strategies and specific resources for getting hired or promoted in civic technology, inside government, in the private sector, and in academia/philanthropy.
Fellowships, Graduate Programs
Graduate programs: UChicago MS-CAPP , Digital@HKS , Smart Communities @ Pepperdine , NYU CUSP
Fellowships: CfA Community, Civic Digital Fellowship, Fuse Corps, Coro Fellowship, Presidential Innovation Fellowship, Georgetown US Digital Corpos
Public Sector Jobs (or volunteer roles): Public Interest Job Board, US Digital Response, USDS & 18F
Capital sources & Accelerators
Funds: GovTech Fund, UrbanX
Foundations: Knight, Luminate, Omidyar
Accelerators: PUBLIC, SmartCityX
Stay Posted: GovGeek.Club Newsletter
Weekly, curated list of jobs, links, and commentary in government technology and innovation… With an editorial take: GovGeek.club
Book Recommendations
- Beyond Transparency: Open Data in the 21st Century by Code for America (Anthology edited by Brett Goldstein & Lauren Dyson)
- Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology by Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank
- Civc Technologist’s Practice Guide by Cyd Harrell
- We the Possibility by Mitch Weiss
- Solving Public Problems by Beth Simone Noveck
- Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky
- Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton
- The Information by James Gleick
- Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
(The last two are arguably less practical, but still formative.)
What’s Next?
Recognizing that your time in public office will eventually come to an end — fellowships end, elections happen — it is just as important to plan on how to take advantage of your experience for your career. Here are some tips for ending your tour of service you should consider even when you begin:
Presented for Coding it Forward fellows in September 2021
