ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Around two weeks ago, Mayor Richard Berry welcomed a team of technology experts to Albuquerque for the 2015 Code for America Fellowship program. The Fellowship pairs local governments with teams of mid-career, civic-minded technologists for one year. The governments and fellows explore answers to local challenges by engaging with the community, building applications and testing the results. Over the past four years, the fellowship program has produced more than 55 web apps with 30 municipal governments and 103 Fellows.
The applications are tangible results of a process that builds much more than a piece of technology. By working in an iterative, user-centered, data-driven way, the program strengthens key capabilities within local government and communities that ultimately shift how cities think about, and use, technology to deliver public services.
In Albuquerque, the fellowship will explore how to remove barriers that citizens face in accessing social services and employment opportunities. There are many services that are not utilized to their full potential. The fellows will assess assets and resources available to individuals seeking employment or other opportunities, then streamlining the information to make it more accessible.
Eight partners, from a diverse pool of more than 40, were selected for the 2015 fellowship. In addition to Albuquerque, they include Indianapolis, Ind.; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Pittsburgh, Pa; Somerville, Mass.; Vallejo, Cali.; West Sacramento, Calif.; and RVA Community Partners in Richmond, Va.
To keep up with the fellowship and to learn more about what they’re doing for Albuquerque, you can visit their website.
