Code for America Summit

Much has changed in the world of government and technology since our last Summit in November 2016. 

At our last meeting, public servants and technologists learned from cities who had founded digital service units, heard directly from State Secretaries who had moved to agile procurements for services from large, monolithic solutions and from the bleeding edge of innovation in Federal government. 

2017 has brought in a new administration and Congress, putting even more pressure on discovering how to do more with less when it comes to technology and innovation. 

But the work needed to build government that’s fit for a digital age hasn’t changed. We must focus on our users, understand their needs and deliver quickly and iteratively.

2018’s Summit will cover four big, important themes through workshops, main stage presentations and panels and more. 

Every Summit has covered, in its own way, digital capability in government. In 2018, we’ll be meeting, talking and learning about how to make progress sustainable through topics like hiring, training and integrating new skills and expertise in existing organizations as well as new ones. 

In 2018, we’ll be exploring what it looks like when government starts to design policy with tech at the table. How can policy design become more user-centered, data-driven and iterative? And how could that lead to better outcomes? 

Three years after the launch of healthcare.gov and a different Federal approach to technology delivery, what does the state of the government technology market look like? Government procurement officials, nonprofits, think-tanks and vendors new and old will explore what’s worked about a shift toward user-centered, agile procurement and what hasn’t and how the ecosystem can be improved for better results all around. 

Lastly, Code for America’s roots have always emphasized the “by the people” part of “for the people and by the people." In 2018, you’ll learn from amazing stories of success over the past year of citizen engagement and how the idea that community as capacity is a template for effective, positive collaboration.