Civic Tech Career Resources

Overviews

“More Than ‘Good Enough for Government Work’“ (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.

“Forecasting GovTech 2025-2026: Headwinds & Tailwinds” (July 2025): Analysis of the current landscape including AI adoption, fiscal pressures, and emerging opportunities in government technology.

Fellowships & Programs

⚠️ 2025 Landscape Note: The civic tech fellowship landscape has changed significantly. 18F was shut down in February 2025. USDS was reorganized as “United States DOGE Service” in January 2025. Code for America restructured its Community Fellowship to shorter community-based engagements. Many new programs have emerged to fill the gap.

Federal Programs

• Presidential Innovation Fellows — 12-month senior-level fellowship embedding entrepreneurs in federal agencies. Now runs two cohorts annually including AI-specific tracks. 260+ alumni since 2012.
• U.S. Digital Corps — Two-year paid fellowship for early-career technologists (0-2 years experience). Grown to 70+ fellows annually with 95% retention rate. Strong AI/data science focus.

State & Local Digital Service Teams

• California Office of Data and Innovation — Merged digital innovation with CalData. Runs CalAcademy training (5,000+ state workers trained) and Governor’s Innovation Fellows Program.
• Colorado Digital Service — Active hiring with embedded teams across state departments.
• New Jersey Office of Innovation — Led major wins: unemployment time reduced from 4 hours to 25 minutes; NJ AI Assistant used by 15,000+ workers.
• Digital Service Network Tracker — Beeck Center’s comprehensive tracker showing 45% of states now have digital service teams.

Professional Fellowships

• Fuse Corps — 1-2 year fellowships for experienced professionals (15+ years). $80,000 annual salary. Operating across 26 states with 400+ completed projects.
• Govern For America — 2-year paid fellowships ($45,000-$75,000) for recent graduates in state/local government across CT, CO, MD, MI, and MO.
• Georgetown Beeck Center Fellowships — Multiple programs expanded with $8M Ballmer Group gift: Innovation + Incubation Fellowship, Federal Alumni Fellowship, Digital Service Alumni Fellowship.
• Coro Fellowship — 7-9 month program in SF, LA, NYC, and St. Louis. Now 100% tuition-free with monthly stipend.

Student Programs

• Coding it Forward - Summer fellowship program for early-career technologists to innovate in local, state, and federal government offices nationwide.
• Cornell Tech PiTech Initiative — PhD Impact Fellowships, Visiting Practitioner’s Program, and PiTech Impact Studio for graduate students.
• Princeton CITP Summer Fellowship — Places 16-20 rising juniors/seniors in tech policy work.
• Media Democracy Fund Fellowships — Technology Exchange (12+ months at civil society orgs) and PhDX Fellowship (PhD students at DC policy orgs).
• Paragon Policy Fellowship - Fellowship connects university students and recent graduates with opportunities to work on technology policy and digital governance

Volunteer & Crisis Response

• U.S. Digital Response — Pro bono technologists supporting government COVID response and beyond.
• Alliance of Civic Technologists — Successor to Code for America Brigade Network. Members include SF Civic Tech, Code for Philly, BetaNYC, Chi Hack Night. Active Discord community.

Graduate Programs

Data Science & Policy

• UChicago MS-CAPP — The gold standard. 2-year joint program between Harris School and Computer Science. 97% employment rate. Also offers 5-year BA/MSCAPP pathway.
• Arizona State MS in Public Interest Technology — First degree designed specifically for the PIT movement. 100% online, 30 credits.
• UIC MS in Civic Analytics — First-of-its-kind combining civic tech and data analytics. Core courses include AI/ML and Coding for Civic Data Applications.
• Cornell Tech Urban Tech Concentration — 2-year dual MS (Technion + Cornell) applying ML, data science, and HCI to urban challenges.

Smart Cities & Urban Science

• NYU CUSP — 36-credit, 2-year program with seven tracks including AI, Smart Infrastructure, and Urban Technology Management.
• Pepperdine Smart Communities Certificate — 6-week online certificate ($750) covering AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and ethics.

Digital Government & Technology Policy

• Harvard Kennedy School — Offers courses (“Digital Government,” “Digital Governance and Leadership”) and executive education. Belfer Center launched new Emerging Technology program 2024-25.
• UMass Amherst Graduate Certificate in PIT — Fully online 9-credit certificate from School of Public Policy and Manning College of Computer Science.
• Carnegie Mellon MS in Privacy Technology and Policy — Part-time online format for working professionals.

Book Recommendations

Essential Reading (2021-2025)

• Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka (2023) - NPR’s Best Books of 2023. Ezra Klein called it “the book I wish every policymaker would read.” The Code for America founder and former U.S. Deputy CTO argues government must be recoded from the ground up.
• Hack Your Bureaucracy by Marina Nitze and Nick Sinai (2022) — 56 practical tactics from former VA CTO and US Deputy CTO.
• Power to the Public by Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank (2021) — Endorsed by Barack Obama. Defines public interest technology around Design, Data, and Delivery.
• We the Possibility by Mitch Weiss (2021) — Framework for shifting from “Probability Government” to “Possibility Government.”
• Solving Public Problems by Beth Simone Noveck (2021) — Four skills public problem solvers need. Includes exercises and free online course.
• A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide by Cyd Harrell (2020) — The essential field guide for technologists entering public sector work.

AI & Technology Policy

• The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance edited by Justin B. Bullock et al. (2024) — 49 chapters covering value foundations, regulatory ecosystem, and implementation.
• Rewiring Democracy by Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders (2025) — How AI is reshaping lawmaking, regulation, courts, and civic participation.
• A Hacker’s Mind by Bruce Schneier (2023) — Expands “hacking” concept to economic, political, and social systems.

Foundational Works

• Beyond Transparency edited by Brett Goldstein & Lauren Dyson — Code for America anthology on open data.
• Lean Startup by Eric Ries — Essential methodology applicable to government innovation.
• Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky — Understanding collective action in the digital age.
• The Information by James Gleick — The history and theory of information.
• Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville — Still relevant for understanding American civic life.

Capital Sources & Accelerators

Venture Funds

• GovTech Fund — $50M+ under management across two early-stage funds. 30+ investments with portfolio companies raising $500M+ in follow-on capital.
• Govtech Ventures — Early-stage focus on state/local government modernization.

Accelerators

• Leading Cities — Global Smart City non-profit organization connecting government leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors around sustainability and resillience; funds pilots for winning startups.
• PUBLIC — UK-based, operating across UK, France, Germany, Denmark. GovStart accelerator has supported 36+ companies.
• SmartCityX — Stage-agnostic community led by Scrum Ventures with Japanese corporate partners.
• Smart City Works — Washington DC-area accelerator named Top 12 Global Smart City Accelerator.

Foundations

• Bloomberg Philanthropies — The largest funder in government innovation. Distributed $3.7B in 2024 alone. Key programs includ What Works Cities, the Mayors Challenge, Innovation Teams (i-teams), and the Local Infrastructure Hub.
• Knight Foundation — Relaunched Knight Emerging City Champions in 2024. Over $25M invested in civic tech since 2010.
• Luminate — ~$320M across 240 groups in 18 countries; ~$50M in U.S. civic tech. Part of the Omidyar Group.
• Ford Foundation Technology and Society — $80M budget. $20M+ commitment to PIT in 2024.
• Public Interest Tech Infrastructure Fund — Pooled fund with Ford, McGovern, Pivotal Ventures, Siegel Family Endowment. 24 grants, $16M+ disbursed.
• Schmidt Sciences — Social Safety Net Product Studio ($13M initiative) supporting 12 grantees including U.S. Digital Response.
• Rockefeller Foundation — Launched AI Readiness Project (November 2025) expanding to all 50 states.
• Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) — 63 academic institutions. Over $16M deployed to 154 projects since 2019.

Networks & Communities

Professional Networks

• Alliance of Civic Technologists — Successor to CfA Brigade Network. Members include SF Civic Tech, Code for Philly, BetaNYC, Chi Hack Night, Code for Boston. Join Discord (500+ members).
• ELGL — 4,800+ members across all 50 states. Programs include GovLove Podcast, Morning Buzz blog, Top Influencers awards, and Analyst Academy.
• GovLoop — 300,000+ members. Featured Contributor Program, annual NextGen Government Training Summit.
• All Tech Is Human — Slack community, job board, mentorship program for responsible tech careers.
• Civic Tech Field Guide — World’s largest collection of civic tech projects. Field Guide Friday newsletter (4,300+ subscribers).

Newsletters

Subscribe to stay current on civic tech jobs, news, and opportunities:

Job Boards

• All Tech Is Human — Leading replacement. Jobs in Responsible AI, Trust & Safety, Tech & Democracy, and PIT.
• Tech Jobs for Good — 2,650+ mission-driven organizations with required salary ranges.
• Bill Hunt’s “Cool Govtech Jobs” — Curated USAJobs listings. Best resource for federal tech positions.
• GovernmentJobs (NEOGOV) — Largest aggregator for federal, state, local, and tribal governments.
• CIO.GOV Technology Jobs Portal — Official federal CIO Council gateway.
• Tech to Gov — Job fairs and recruitment events for tech-to-government transitions.

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: