Work ยท Public Interest
Civic Data Experiments
A collection of smaller public-interest projects built around a simple idea: data is more useful when ordinary people can see, question, and build with it.
The problem
Public systems are complicated, and it is easy for their information to feel inaccessible. The interesting question is often whether a small prototype can make a real issue more visible or easier to act on.
What we tried
Through open data, partnerships, public visualizations, and hands-on experiments, we made room for people inside and outside government to work on concrete city problems.
My role
I convened partners, made data available, and kept looking for projects small enough to try but substantial enough to teach us something.
What happened
The experiments gave people new entry points into city data and helped establish a culture of trying practical things in public.
What I learned
Experiments are not a substitute for institutions. They can be a useful way to help institutions learn what is worth making durable.