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7 Code for America Cities Named for 2015

Founder outlines goals for partnerships at annual summit in San Francisco.

The names of seven new jurisdictions were announced Tuesday, Sept. 23, as part of Code for America’s (CfA) 2015 Fellowship -- a program to jumpstart tech projects that achieve government and citizen goals.

CfA Founder Jennifer Pahlka revealed the localities at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on day one of the CfA 2014 Summit. The partnerships include:

  • Albuquerque, N.M.;
  • Indianapolis, Ind.;
  • Miami-Dade County, Fla.;
  • Pittsburgh;
  • Somerville, Mass.;
  • Vallejo, Calif.; and
  • West Sacramento, Calif.
A previous perception, Pahlka said, was that CfA leaned toward larger municipalities for fellowships. But this grouping proves that smaller governments are equally viable and significant to the program.

“I think that the point is it doesn’t matter what size your government is,” she said “… I’m delighted to welcome these folks into our 2015 program.”

As in previous iterations, governments will receive development help of CfA technologists for a year to create civic apps to support policy goals and programs of agencies and departments. In past years, the program has collectively produced in excess of 55 Web apps for 30 municipal governments. These efforts have been supported by 100-plus CfA fellows.

This year’s selection of seven were chosen from 40 applicants and, according to a CfA release, applicants were picked based on their dedication to communities and the desire to innovate.

Each jurisdiction, Pahlka said, will have a topic of emphasis for fellowship teams and their projects. These include health for West Sacramento, economic development for Albuquerque, public safety for Indianapolis, procurement for Pittsburgh, public safety for Vallejo, education for Somerville and economic development for Miami-Dade.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said via the press release that collaboration was hoped to expand open government transparency, spur their economic development and boost a higher quality for delivery of services.

“Code for America is an organization that has successfully advanced these capabilities through technology and innovation," he said, "and the organization will be an important partner in our ongoing work to make Miami-Dade County more open, transparent and efficient."

To learn more about the fellowships and teams visit codeforamerica.org.

Jason Shueh is a former staff writer for Government Technology magazine.