The Opportunity Project Demo Week 2020

Join us to kick off The Opportunity Project Demo Week! Day 1 will focus on showcasing innovative products to defend and restore the natural environment, lifting up voices from indigenous communities, and featuring perspectives from student innovators.

The Census Bureau is more than just data. In this welcome keynote, hear from Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham about the Census Bureau’s leading role in advancing the federal statistical community’s  collaboration efforts via The Opportunity Project, exploring industry engagement, and how other agencies can join us in collaborating to improve federal data quality, usability, and how we share it with the public.

Whether you grab a coffee or a cocktail, join us after a full day of panels to connect and meet attendees. Post and share your favorite moments from the day as you “bar hop” across chatrooms. We’ll send you a media kit to get you started!

On Day 2, we’ll recap highlights from day 1, showcase more than 20 new products focusing on the built environment and civics education, and open our playbook to share what we’ve learned from 5 years of TOP.   Don’t miss the opening keynote to hear about HUD’s vision for economic empowerment, partnership with the tech industry, and a vision for leadership and self-actualization in achieving our goals.

This session is a must-attend for anyone who came into the government or tech space to promote democracy and civic participation.  Civics education is at a crossroads: In 2014, less than 25% of 8th graders scored proficient on the National Civics Exam, and in 2018, only 9 states required year-long US government courses. This fall, the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance (F) took on the challenge of reimagining civics education through a sprint to develop data-driven digital tools. Groundbreaking not only in the subject matter, but also as the pilot of TOP’s new open source toolkit - TOPx. Hear from Jim Richardson, Director of F on data transparency and usability, and from tech teams from Syracuse iConsult and Suffolk University about the products they developed. Then, join us for a fireside chat with the State team on their experience using TOPx, a newly launched toolkit that allows federal agencies to leverage the TOP model and resources to facilitate sprints on flexible timelines and topics. If you’re an edtech company, a teacher, student, education advocacy organization, or a federal agency looking for new innovation strategies - this session is for you!

It’s been 5 years since the launch of TOP:  What have we learned? As we cross the finish line of our 12th sprint cycle, with nearly 150 products completed, we’re realizing more than ever what TOP is really about: Changing the way government employees think about collaboration and innovating with data. Changing the way the public thinks about the government’s capacity to support them.  Improving data quality by opening up conversations with end users. And so much more. In this transparent conversation with some of our most respected innovation colleagues, we’ll dig into the lasting impacts of TOP and other programs, the remaining challenges of sustaining these efforts, and what new innovation leaders and career civil servants should take away.  Featuring speakers from 10x, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Partnership for Public Service and The Opportunity Project.

In our closing keynote for Day 2, hear from Census Bureau Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Ron Jarmin about how the Bureau has led innovation through its history, the mission ahead for the data community, and how the unknown future of technology will shape the Censuses of 2030 and beyond.  

The Opportunity Project is for everyone - and this year we’re opening our playbook to ensure any federal, state, local or tribal government can adopt the model to catalyze innovative tech and put open data to work.  Join one of two hands-on sessions to learn how you can adapt TOP for your own goals, and receive guidance and feedback from The Opportunity Project team.

Thinking about how your agency can address mission critical challenges by engaging the private and social sectors? Not sure how to engage the public to utilize your open data resources?  After 5 years of TOP, we’re opening up our playbook through TOPx, an adaptable toolkit that enables federal agencies to facilitate their own virtual technology development sprints. Join us to get an inside look at the toolkit and learn about using the TOP model to transform federal open data into digital tools aligned with key national challenges and agencies mission. Then brainstorm with our team and peers on how you can make this work at your own agency.

Interested in learning a new skill or two? Join us for a workshop that will help you walk away with tangible skills you can bring back to your work or team. This intro level workshop follows the belief that tech and design are for EVERYONE!

Co-hosted by DotGov Design / AIGA

How can government adopt design methodologies to become more efficient, modern, and user-friendly?  This workshop will cover basic methods of human centered design, including topics like user research, ideation, and storytelling, and showcase how these methods can be applied within government to improve the way we work. This workshop is for anyone working inside, with, or for government agencies at the federal, state, local, or tribal levels, or anyone interested in applying design to civic tech!

Interested in learning a new skill or two? Join us for a workshop that will help you walk away with tangible skills you can bring back to your work or team. This intro level workshop follows the belief that tech and design are for EVERYONE!

Co-hosted by Census Academy + Mapbox

Have you ever wondered how to utilize open data but weren't sure where to begin? Do you feel like you don't have the skills to be a "data person"? We're here to tell you that data is for everyone, and help you build the skills and confidence to believe it!  This workshop will cover intro level skills in finding and using open data, and will help demystify terms, processes, and even tools that help you understand data. Attendees will use TOP's Data Curation Hub to find data sources relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic, and  walk away with a tangible skill that can help you understand how to use and pull insights from open data.

The last session of Demo Week is your chance to meet COIL, the organizers of Demo Week!  Through a quick toast and sendoff, we’ll introduce the team behind TOP and our larger innovation office, Census Open Innovation Labs.  Meet the team, hear brief closing thoughts and where we go from here, and join in an open Q&A with the team.