The Opportunity Project Demo Week 2020

Step into a virtual “science fair” and participate in live technology demos with teams from The Opportunity Project’s 2020 sprints on natural environment challenges.  Ask questions and connect directly with the teams who built these tools. Featuring 14 total products.

What inspires students to use their tech skills for social good? What are the biggest barriers to pursuing a career in civic technology, and do higher education institutions have an obligation to address them? Join us to hear from Harvard, George Mason and Villanova students who participated in the inaugural TOP University Sprint  through a panel moderated by Andreen Soley, Director of New America’s Public Interest Technology University Network.

The American dream means we can all achieve economic success and growth for our families - but what is the role of technology in ensuring that dream is available to everyone?  This year, we took on two challenges with that question at their core: enabling families to lift themselves up and achieve economic self-sufficiency - building on the groundbreaking Envision Center model championed by HUD, and helping resettled refugees to thrive in the new communities they now call home. Hear from 6 teams who took on these challenges about the solutions they created to support families nationwide, and what they learned in the process by hearing from refugees and families themselves. Featuring speakers from Julius Education, OPS 1, Mapbox & Graphicacy, Georgetown University, SAS, USA Hello, and more. 

Co-hosted by Orange Sparkle Ball

The health of rural communities and access to services, infrastructure, and data is critical to implementing solutions that tackle economic, environmental and human health challenges. In this session, technologists and community leaders come together to showcase creative solutions that help the American public understand the challenges, gaps and opportunities to help facilitate sustainable rural economic development and track federal financial assistance to local communities  in response to emergencies and disasters.  Featuring speakers from the White House Office of Management and Budget, Center on Rural Innovation, Citi Ventures, Urban Footprint, Alteryx, Baruch College, Syracuse University, and Columbia University. 

Translating Tools to Change: Community Reactions and End User Discussions

After hearing about these new products, are you curious to know how these tools will ultimately get into the hands of end users?  Join a group of brilliant community and subject matter experts , each from distinct communities across the country, and hear their reactions to the tools presented and reflections on how they will translate to real change and impact. Featuring speakers from the National Indian Gaming Association, Pew Trusts, HUD, and Refugee Congress. 

Step into a virtual “science fair” and participate in live technology demos with teams from The Opportunity Project’s 2020 sprints on built environment challenges.  Ask questions and connect directly with the teams who built these tools. Featuring 13+ products.

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.  

*PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs cannot be accepted through Emamo for this session.  This session is by invitation only, and this description is only informational*

In this workshop, tech teams will connect with product mentors, strategy advisors, and industry experts on how to advance their TOP sprint products, bring them to market, and make an impact with their work. A diverse group of experts from venture capital, government and civic tech organizations, incubators, and more will connect 1:1 with tech teams through tailored “speed mentoring” sessions.  This is a specially curated workshop by invitation only.

After 2 packed afternoons of keynotes, lightning talks, and live demos on everything from stewarding our planet to putting the civics back in civic tech, Day 3 will focus on enabling our community to learn and grow.  

Don’t miss the opening keynote by Aden Van Noppen, the Executive Director of Mobius, that will captivate and ground us.  With the significant influence that technology has over our lives, it is more important than ever to prioritize human wellbeing and examine technology’s role in fostering or impairing our own individual and collective  balance and health. Fueled by a deep passion to serve, Aden was a Senior Advisor to the US Chief Technology Officer at the White House, and was also the Co-Founder of The Opportunity Project. As Demo Week looks to the future on Day 3, how will we apply  what we’ve learned to serve more holistically with technology? Join us for an opportunity to learn about what work has been done to strengthen a spiritually healthy relationship with tech within organizations and imagine what is possible for the future. Featuring a live collective visualization. 

When WWII veterans served, they made up 11% of the US population… today, in the midst of our longest running conflicts, it’s less than 1%. What burden has that placed on our vets, especially when many are not truly heard about what they’ve seen and experienced? With an average 22 veterans lost by suicide per day, there is clearly work to do, and today’s tech and services may not be cutting it.  Hear from writer, veteran, advocate, designer, and general truth speaker Ben Sledge about his story and the conversations we need to have.  Featuring a TED-style talk by Ben and a fireside chat between veterans about their collective experiences and how technology and The Opportunity Project community can support.

Spotify serves you up the weekly discover playlist of your dreams, Netflix is in your head about exactly what you want to watch… how do all these tools in our pocket curate the perfect (and sometimes not so perfect) information for us?  Join us to learn from industries trailblazing data curation to understand what it is, why it’s important, and how curating federal data can help the nation.  Warning: this is NOT a panel with federal agency CDOs!  Prepare for enlightening and novel thoughts from the data leaders you don’t hear about all the time.  We’ll also feature the Data Curation Hub, TOP’s answer to what we do about curating federal open data for end users. Featuring speakers from Redfin, SAP, and more. 

Co-hosted by Georgetown University Beeck Center for Social Impact & CivStart.

The Opportunity Project partners with federal agencies to identify and solve national challenges. But state and local governments are often even closer to community needs, so how can the TOP model be applied? State and local leaders:  join Georgetown’s Beeck Center to learn about their work taking TOP to cities, and participate in a workshop to brainstorm challenges, partners, and how you can take this model to your own local community . Technologists, join to hear from accelerator CivStart about best practices for building solutions that serve local governments and their communities.

*Attendance capped at 75, registration required

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 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.