About Civic Hacker
Our mission is to use software, policy, and data to empower activists and engineer liberation
Founded in 2012, Civic Hacker LLC provides technology services to organizations and individuals desiring to make a positive social impact locally and more broadly. We create projects and initiatives as opportunities to engage in concert with other stakeholders to solve social problems and share knowledge beyond the technical community. Civic Hacker’s mission is to use software, policy, and data to empower activists and engineer liberation. We’ve developed a theory of change called anti-oppressive technology, which states that we can address the threats created by oppressive systems by developing technology that liberates communities and unites us together as one people. Civic Hacker's goal is to, sustainably and with balance, create positive social impact consumed through our technology services and supported by the public.
- Humans on staff
- 7
- BCorp Score (2021, uncertified)
- 84.1
- Government entities served
- 8
- Failures, and counting
- 6(+2)
- love
- 1
Software. Policy. Data.
Notable Milestones
Check out our Proof of Work. We've been arranging Humans and machines to make positive social impact for years.
Published Digital Inclusion template resolution
In 2017, the policy template was accepted by https://mymadison.io, a government policy co-creation platform owned and operated by the Open Government Foundation.
Helped fix Data API for 2020 Census
Submitted a detailed bug report that contributed to fixing the Census Bureau’s Data API and codebook ahead of the 2020 Census.
Joined the Digital Inclusion and Access Taskforce
We joined the Digital Inclusion and Access Taskforce, which conducted the Nashville Digital Inclusion Needs Assessment (report released June 2021).
Joined FCC's Broadband Data Collection initiative
In 2021, we launched ‘Challenge the Map’, an initiative to create software to help organizations submit broadband map challenges to the FCC.
Thanked by the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Submitted a response to a Federal Registry Request For Information (88 FR 10150) from the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the state of Criminal Justice Statistics.
Shooting for Change, a hackathon for public good
The hackathon that kicked-off our ‘Hack On Guns’ project was a partnership between Civic Hacker, Fisk University, Blacks In Technology Foundation, and Vanderbilt University to engage with the community in exploring how technology can help reduce gun violence in schools.
Launched 'Human Quirks,' a human-centered framework for AI
‘Human Quirks’ is built up existing models of modern computing including OSI, TCP/IP, and HCI models, combined with social ecological of human development theory to aid in the creation of ‘safe and trustworthy AI’.
We joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Safety Consortium
We joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Safety Consortium
Software. Policy. Data.
Become a Civic Hacker supporter
Our projects are workstreams designed to make positive social impact closest to home. Give us $$ and we'll keep doing it.
