Housed in the heart of the Flatiron district, Civic Hall is a coworking space dedicated to helping civic innovators solve problems that advance the public good.
Today, the space is expanding on that mission and launching a nonprofit R&D arm dubbed Civic Hall Labs. The nonprofit aims to help entrepreneurs leverage technology that effects social change, as there’s a need for civic technology to be piloted, tested and analyzed.
Civic Hall Labs was founded by Andrew Rasiej and Micah Sifry with the mission of improving the welfare and well-being of communities through a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. It is launching with two programs: “Themed Labs” and a "Civic Xclerator.”
Themed Labs projects will initially focus on health and justice. The Health Lab will hone in on innovations that address the civic roots of societal health disparities. The Justice Labs will explore opportunities around how machine learning, data and mobile technology can enhance the criminal justice system.
Through the labs program, teams will leverage experience in community-centered design, and work with sector experts to identify design questions that address the roots of public challenges. Once an idea is selected for pursuit, the labs will prototype to enable adoption and assess the impact of the project. Once data on the idea is tested, collected and analyzed, the labs will help the project seek wider deployment.
The Civic Xcelerator is a community-sourced platform that works with local residents to help them become civic inventors through part-time training in design-thinking, prototyping and startup methodology. The Xcelerator also aids mid-stage civic tech startups with their strategy, legal, financings, UX, branding and design challenges.
“We believe the challenges we face are complex and require a diversity of perspectives and expertise,” the nonprofit wrote in a blog post. “And we believe meaningful change can result from a series of small, strategic wins that put technology at the service of experts and communities.”
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