Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, started off the conference with a call to action, “Beliefs aren’t enough, we have to act.”
One of those actions was announced during her keynote. Code for America is launching a new peer network for cities. Why, because “networks do what individuals can’t.” The program aims to connect change agents in local government around big ideas, to make government more engaging for citizens.
Tim O’Reilly took the stage with Eric Ries, author of The Lean Start-up and newly announced Code for America board member. They talked mostly about the book and how the principles outlined in the book can be applied to government. The model of a start-up and the concept of failure, were the two hot topics.