News
Seattle's CiviForm tool recognized in 2023 Smart 50 Awards
May 16, 2023 - The City of Seattle’s CiviForm tool was named one the 50 most transformative smart projects of 2023 by Smart Cities Connect.
Affordable Seattle is an an online resource to help residents find benefits they may be eligible for in the City of Seattle. CiviForm is an open-source tool that makes it easier for residents and their trusted community-based organizations to apply to discount and benefit programs. Users can enter their information once and apply to multiple City programs. CiviForm was designed based on the input of Seattle residents and built by the City of Seattle Information Technology department in collaboration with google.org.
The CiviForm team's Matthew Sprenke and Miguel Jimenez received the award at the Smart Cities Connect Award Ceremony in Denver, CO on May 15 on behalf of Affordable Seattle/CiviForm. The Affordable Seattle/CiviForm Team members include Gwen Goetz, Elise Kalstad, Swathi Murthi, and Matthew Sprenke of Seattle Information Technology; Long Dinh and Miguel Jimenez of the Seattle Innovation and Performance Team; and partners in the open-source project from google.org, Exygy, State of Arkansas, and Bloomington, Indiana.
Learn more about the Smart 50 Awards.
Black Tech Night: Building Community and Advancing Equity in Seattle’s Technology Hub
April 28, 2023 - The Seattle Office of Economic Development in partnership with F5, Zillow, Google, and the Downtown Seattle Association, hosted the second Black Tech Night on April 13, 2023 in downtown at Inside, a recent graduate of the Seattle Restored program. Black Tech Night unites public and private sector partners to empower Seattle’s Black tech community. The event series was created through Mayor Harrell’s One Seattle Civic Partnership to bring together the local Black tech community and allies to connect, learn, and celebrate successes.
Read more: Black Tech Night
Seattle By Design program launches with five high-priority user research projects to improve city services
April 25, 2023 - In partnership with U.S Digital Response (USDR), the City of Seattle Innovation and Performance team launched the Seattle by Design user research cohort this month. This pilot project connects a cohort of volunteer experts with Seattle City departments to answer questions and make recommendations using best practices in user research. Seattle by Design will help the City of Seattle better understand its residents’ needs and improve the delivery of public services.
The cohort will undertake five high-priority user research projects to tackle some of the city’s most pressing challenges, such as enhancing the loan application process for BIPOC businesses and establishing city best practices for language access. The program launched in early April 2023 for a ten-week sprint.
Read more: Seattle By Design