The Smart Chicago Model

The Smart Chicago Model

Daniel X. O’NeilExecutive Director

November 2014

1

@danxoneil @smartchicago

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Points

• A civic organization devoted to improving lives in [place] through technology

• The philosophy & why the model works• The founders & their roles• The strategy & why it is important• The funding & how it gets done• The work & how we do it• The cities which have shown interest to

date


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Our PrinciplesTechnology

OpenEveryoneChicago

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Our PrinciplesTechnology

OpenEveryoneChicago

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We’re all about technology

• Everything we do relates to technology

• We are of and about the Internet• We believe in the transformative

power of the Internet to change lives and build the economy for all


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We are open

• Open source code• More importantly: open processes,

open minds, open methods• Allowing others “in”, wherever that

may be


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Target market: everyone

• We believe in the power of the network

• The network needs everyone in it in order for it to be powerful

• We work on solutions that cover the entire city


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Chicago is our middle name

• All of our work is done here• Unique and thriving ecosystem • We serve as a model for others


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The Strategy

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Access, Skills, and Data

Smart Chicago is a civic organization devoted to improving lives in Chicago through technology. We work on increasing access to the Internet, improving skills for using Internet, and developing meaningful products from data that measurably contribute to the quality of life of residents in our region and beyond.


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AccessIf you’re not connected to the Internet, it is difficult for technology to be of much use to you.


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SkillsIf you can’t use the Internet, being connected isn’t going to be all that meaningful.


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DataWe construe data as content. Because there has to be something meaningful to look at once you’re connected and skilled.


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The Founders: 2 Philanthropies, 1 Municipality

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The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

• A center for ideation and conception

• Julia Stasch: 2007 report, “The City that NETWorks”

• Our primary source of funding


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The Chicago Community Trust

• Provides housing for the organization and is fiscal agent

• At the center of funding and knowledge for the region

• Critical financial, human resources, and other support


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The City of Chicago

• The most important policy lever in the region

• Departmental relationships

• A critical partner for having impact and getting things done


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The Funding

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Sources of Capital

• Overall budget: ~1.3M per year, not counting special projects

• MacArthur: primary; essential• CCT: critical back-office support as well as grants• Sprague: on-target programs centered on health• Knight: an essential, growing partner focused on

civic engagement • Cook County: to do open data work


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We function as a tech development outfit.

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The Work

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Focus on ecosystem

We make technology, programs, and initiatives that allow others to be more effective— to provide clarity and impetus


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Amazon Web Services

• We host dozens of apps for civic hackers

• At a moment’s notice & for as long as they want

• This allows us to be helpful at the moment of inspiration

• Eliminating stoppers, encouraging innovation


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Project Work and Office Space

• We have three employees at Smart Chicago

• A deliberate strategy to spread revenue, power, and growth across the ecosystem

• We are founding tenants of 1871, going back to May 2012

• We’ve helped jumpstart a half dozen companies

• OpenGov Hack Night— an institution. They are there because of our seats


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CUTGroup

• Civic User Testing Group as a new model for UX testing, digital skills development, and community engagement in civic tech

• 800+ residents are available• We’ve paid each of them a $5 VISA gift

card. When they participate in a test, they get a $20 gift card

• We help the developers design and implement UX testing and it allows us to be deeply engaged with communities while improving digital skills


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Eliminate The Digital Divide Advisory Committee

• I am the chair of this state-based grant program

• They give grants to community technology centers all over the state of Illinois

• Allows me to be more plugged in to the investments happening outside of a particular jurisdiction


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Cook County Open Data Work

• We have a contract with the County to assist them with their data portal

• Pure block-and-tackle technical assistance

• Helping publish data that grows the ecosystem


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Chicago School of Data

• There is a Chicago School of Data emerging

• One that places people at the center

• One in the service of people


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#CivicSummer• 6 week program• One of many on-ramps to

digital skills• We learned a lot from our

partners• Other projects and

technology grow from it (expunge.io, for example)

• This highlights the importance of doing— not just funding and providing infrastructure for others


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And we produce a lot of software.@danxoneil @smartchicago

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Foodborne Chicago

• We use computers & code to search Twitter for tweets related to food poisoning in Chicago

• We do as much as we can to automatically zero-in on the tweets we think are really about a possible food poisoning case and really coming from Chicago

• Then real humans review the tweets and @reply back to people with a link back to our site, hoping to generate legitimate service requests


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Chicago Early Learning

• Easily find early learning programs near your home or work

• Compare programs side-by-side to select the highest quality option for your child

• Kick off the enrollment process


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Chicago Works For You

• Citywide dashboard with ward-by-ward views of service delivery in Chicago

• Slice, dice, view, review• Sort by whatever interests you• Automatic, running totals


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Chicago Health Atlas

• View citywide information about health trends and take action near you to improve your own health

• Our health programs are run by Kyla Williams• Also: Smart Health Centers


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And many more.See our website /projects page for up to date info

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We seek to help spread the Smart Chicago model.


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So hit us up.

@danxoneil(773) [email protected]
