This is a front-end static prototype of a civic operating system. At its core, CivicOS is a community information tool that is centered around the needs of citizens rather than the structure of government.
Citizens don’t care which city, county, district, state agency, or community based organization is officially designated as the administrator of a specific program. Instead, they rightfully hold all of these entities accountable for collectively improving the quality of life outcomes that they care about.
CivicOS will enable users to quickly dive into nearly any public issue and understand what's happening at a systems level. Today, no single entity has it in their interest to develop this tool because it transcends traditional political boundaries. CivicOS is premised on the idea that collective impact requires shared accountability. The platform will help citizens make the connection between the taxes they pay, the services they receive, and the outcomes that those services influence.
There are several components to CivicOS, the first of which is CITX (citizen + experience).
CITX provides a user journey for engaged citizens seeking more information about what's happening in their communities and at a regional level. The user journey is guided by six fundamental questions that move citizens from information to action:
- How are we doing?
- Who's responsible?
- How much money are we spending?
- Where's the money coming from?
- What are some current issues?
- How can I get involved?
We believe that civic data standards must begin with these questions in mind.
The CITX API will aggregate data from many different sources, including cities, counties, special districts, and state and federal agencies. Data will include information about programs, finances, policies, and quality of life outcomes. Beyond government, the API also will incorporate information about the work of nonprofits, community based, and other social impact organizations.
To date, most civic data standards have been developed using a push strategy. That is, they've been developed by the experts who supply the data. While this is not inherently bad, we believe civic data standards also need a pull strategy that helps citizens demand the data they need to inform better collective decision-making about:
- Where are we at?
- Where do we want to go?
- How are we going to get there?
CivicOS will empower community members to set standards for regional progress.
Public Innovation will pilot CivicOS in the Sacramento region during Fall 2014. Our initial geographic scope comprises the six county (and 22 city) Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) region. SACOG is a federally designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO), so the platform could be replicated at a regional level in other parts of the U.S. or at any other level with some customization.
While additional components will be added to CivicOS, their implementation will depend on our ability to sustainably scale the platform.
Want to bring CivicOS to your region or help us test it in Sacramento? Hit us up at @Roughani or @thomchop.