Communications of the ACM
Google Awards $1.5 Million to Code For America
Code for American founder Jennifer Pahlka
Code for America plans to expand its fellowship program and offer two new pilot programs--the Civic Startup Seed Accelerator and the CIA Brigade--using a $1.5 million grant from Google.
Launched this year, Code for America is a nonprofit that seeks to build a community of Web developers, designers, and entrepreneurs for civic e-government initiatives. The fellowship program is a 12-month internship of sorts that enables Web developers and designers to work with U.S. cities to create new civic technology. The number of fellows placed in cities will increase from three in 2010 to eight in 2011.
"We think we can remake our relationship with government by helping government function as a platform, and having Google validate that vision is huge for Code for America," says founder Jennifer Pahlka. "We're looking forward not only to great new apps and stories of innovation, but to reuse of the 2011 apps by our new city partners and others."
The Seed Accelerator program will provide entrepreneurs with technology so they can potentially develop into vendors that serve the government market. The CIA Brigade program will develop an online platform for reusing applications created for cities, and civic-minded developers will be able to use the site to share and remix code.
From InformationWeek
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