PPOL 220. Introduction to Civic Technology  

Profile Paper

 This assignment is intended to provide you with an expanded understanding of the civic technology movement in its diverse manifestations. During the semester, you will write three (3) profile papers, each of about 3-3.5 pages in length. You will choose one of the options below for each of the papers, and you must produce one of each during the semester:

  1. A profile of a working application that uses open, real-time, or user-derived data to provide citizen information or a government service. (ex. mRelief, Pigeon, Expunge.io, Muckrock.org, etc.)
  2. Civic Tech Organization. A profile of a civic technology organization (one primary associated with advocacy, civic engagement and organized as a nonprofit). (ex. Code for America, Chihacknight, City Tech Collaborative, etc.)
  3. GovTech Organization. A profile of a city information office, a government entity whose primary role is to use principles of data or data science to assist their work, or a company/private entity who engages in government services contracting or consulting. (US Digital Service, City Information Office, 18F, etc.)

Paper Structure

Each of these areas should be included in your paper, with a header to clearly indicate the section of the paper (i.e. have a section called ‘Organization’).

  1. Introduction (0.75-1 page) – Introduce the reader to the organization/application and its mission. Provide specifics and details; if this is an application, what problem(s) specifically are they trying to solve?

 

  1. Background (1 page) – Provide an expanded discussion of the history of a chosen application or organization. How did it come into existence, and who was leading its development? How long has it been in use? If an organization, what is its mission and how does it fit into the wider realm of government?

 

  1. Information Technology (0.75-1 page) – Discuss the technology used by the organization, or the functioning of the application. What, specifically, makes it/the organization work? Provide hard details on platforms and applications used, and details about data/open data/or how the entity uses (or aggregates) information.

 

  1. Conclusion and Summary (0.5 page) – Provide a brief, professional summary for the reader. (0.5 page)

 

  1. References – Provide proper attribution for any material utilized from external sources in text, all sources are listed in reference section using APA format (which should also be cited in text throughout the paper). Using a combination of journal articles and trusted sources is acceptable, but you should have a strong grounding in current research.