Career Information and Resources on Information Privacy in Smart Systems

Career Information and Resources on
Information Privacy in Smart Systems (Smart Cities),
Washington University Law School and UC Berkeley Law School

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Format: Careers

Leading global experts in privacy and security law – Daniel Solove and Paul Schwartz – have compiled a resources hub that houses everything from career information to statues to international privacy law materials. 

See the Resources

Related Resources: 

Privacy + Security Academy 

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Coding it Forward: Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps

Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps

Founded in 2017, Coding it Forward is a nonprofit for early-career technologists creating new pathways into public interest technology. Through its paid, summer fellowship programs, the Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps, Coding it Forward empowers early-career technologists to innovate at the intersections of technology and public service in federal, state, and local government. 

Fellows spend the summer working in software engineering, data, design, or product management to deliver policy, improve systems, and strengthen products on behalf of the American people.

  • The Civic Digital Fellowship places Fellows in federal government agencies.
  • The Civic Innovation Corps places Fellows in state, local, and county government offices.
  • Both programs are 10 weeks long, starting in mid-June.

Hear firsthand from former Fellows how they benefited from the work

Christina Andrade | Civic Innovation Corps,
Arapahoe County - Department of Information Technology (Digital Services Team)

San José State University, Master of Science in Human Factors and Ergonomics, Class ’23

As a user research fellow, I supported the digital services team of Arapahoe County in Colorado. My role was twofold: to enable and advance the department’s future user research initiatives and to examine current customer engagement with the county’s Motor Vehicles department. As part of my future-looking work, I helped to develop a reusable user research framework and laid the groundwork for a volunteer recruitment database to ease recruitment challenges. To examine customer engagement and experiences with the Motor Vehicles department, we conducted user interviews and on-site observations. We combined those findings with insights from survey responses and Google Analytics to answer our core research questions and develop a set of user personas to guide future research and design. 

First and foremost, my fellowship was my first time serving as an expert in my field on real-world challenges. It gave me the opportunity to both grow and apply the skills and knowledge I have learned in my graduate program at San Jose State University. The fellowship’s mentorship program was also instrumental to my own personal growth and in navigating the culture and nuances unique to government spaces. Lastly, having access to a community of like-minded peers and alumni of the fellowship interested in PIT both provided and continues to provide a powerful network of knowledge- and perspective-sharing. At the end of the fellowship, getting to see the variety of different projects that my peers were working on in government agencies around the country was great exposure to the variety of ongoing PIT projects out there and a powerful reminder of the impact that technologists’ skills can have in these spaces. 

The Civic Innovation Corps gave me my first work experience tackling impactful real-life challenges in the PIT space, which is essential. As many students are painfully aware, we are often caught in a “chicken and egg” dilemma of needing to build our experience but also needing experience to access the opportunities to build said experience. Coding it Forward’s fellowship provided me with my first work experience in user research that I can leverage to gain access to future roles in PIT. Through my work this past summer, I also gained an understanding of the different constraints and limitations present in government and PIT problem spaces and was able to practice navigating those challenges through strategic relationships and resourceful planning. 

Beyond my fellowship placement and working in PIT at a county level, being a Fellow gave me exposure to a variety of perspectives and influential voices within the civic tech and PIT spheres. Through speaker events, books, and other professional development resources Coding it Forward provided, I was able to learn more about the grander landscape and trajectory of the PIT movement. 

Most importantly, resources like the network of alumni and the relationship I built with my mentor are enduring and will continue to be sources of support, knowledge-sharing, and inspiration for years to come.

If you are eligible, take advantage of amazing programs like Coding it Forward and the U.S. Digital Corps, which offer an entry point to working in public interest technology in government and provide invaluable support like mentorship, career development resources, and powerful communities/networks. Volunteer projects are also a great way to get experience with and exposure to PIT projects. Organizations like the U.S. Digital Response or Code for America Brigades offer opportunities to contribute your skills and knowledge on impactful projects, sometimes within your own community. 

 

Lastly, know that a career in public interest technology can be chapters of a larger story. I feel that sometimes students who want to make a positive impact in their society and communities may feel it is a bit daunting to choose between public interest technology and private industry, but in reality, we do not have to dedicate our entire working lives to one or the other. There is room for and value in doing both. Though there may be cultural differences between the two, the skills and lessons learned can make for a beneficial and powerful cross-pollination of experience, knowledge, and emerging ideas/techniques.

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Jaxon_headshot

Jaxon Silva | Civic Digital Fellowship
Department of Health and Human Services

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Bachelor of Science, Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies, Design Studies Concentration, Class ’22

I had the immense pleasure to work on two projects as a human-centered design fellow with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) InnovationX office, alongside a ton of amazing Fellows from various other fellowships. One of these projects was a dashboard that collated the various opportunity areas, frameworks, and work being done on infection-associated chronic illnesses into a neat framework. The idea was to help federal workers get a sense of what work they can do in this space and inspire them to make progress through a rating scale. I also helped develop a crowdsourcing design challenge aimed at grades K-12 students to give them the opportunity to come up with solutions or ideas to address the needs of fellow students with kidney disease or family members who had kidney disease. I also worked with the HHS Office of the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer to conduct a study of how AI was utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was immensely cool to work on projects that were aimed to directly make the lives of people better. And to be able to do that with some of the most talented and amazing people–both staff and Fellows– I’ve ever met. I could get up every morning and smile, knowing that the work I was doing would lead to someone else out there having a better quality of life. That’s a slam dunk in my eyes.

Cal Poly has a small but mighty army of faculty, staff, and students who are working to bring a technical education that is much more grounded in social impact (leading to things like public interest technology), but it is still a burgeoning movement. However, as someone whose major lies at the intersection of engineering and liberal arts, I have been lucky to be part of various projects that have worked to help people, whether that has been efforts to redesign engineering curriculum to include social impact, conducting special effects for a music performance that was raising money for displaced and homeless people, or investigating the “ethical tech” industry. In any case, I do believe that the spirit of utilizing technology to help others is alive and well at Cal Poly, just very decentralized. Outside of that, my experiences this summer as a Civic Digital Fellow were the first time I interacted with other PIT students from other institutions that are part of the PIT-UN.

While I had vaguely known about public interest technology work, I think this fellowship gave me the opportunity to operate in a space where I could directly do PIT work with guidance from both Coding it Forward staff and my supervisors at HHS. Also, the Civic Digital Fellowship has made me aware of and brought me into the network of firms and groups that do PIT work to continue doing this work and continue working to help others, something that I am immensely interested in continuing to do.

I will say that I think fellowships like the Civic Digital Fellowship are a great way to test the waters and learn a lot about how you feel about a career in PIT. Beyond that, I think the best career advice I’ve received is to ask myself, “What is the one thing that interests me most right now?” And pursue that interest wherever it may take me. It’s advice that led me to the Civic Digital Fellowship and a pathway that has led me to discover topics like CoDesign and Design Justice.

Shanna Kurbonshoeva | Civic Innovation Corps
Des Moines - City Manager's Office

CUNY – Baruch College, Master of Public Administration, Class ’22

Last summer, as a Civic Innovations Corps Fellow, I worked in the city manager’s office in Des Moines. In my role as a data analyst and product manager, I worked on a performance measurement initiative project. Measures like these are important for institutions to be able to make the best use of their resources. By the end of the fellowship program, together with another Fellow from Coding it Forward, we were able to organize data on performance measurement for 12 city departments, visualize the measures for some departments, and design webpages for city departments’ performance measures.

As a CIF Fellow, you get the opportunity to work for a government agency. For me, this became an exceptionally valuable experience. It can also be for future fellows who wish to pursue a career in public interest technologies. I was able to attend events about civic tech and meet leaders in the industry. The opportunity to apply what I’ve learned and hone my craft in real-time situations has been beneficial to my professional and academic development. Exposure to the industry by working directly with civic institutions is extremely valuable. Overall, being a Fellow is a treasured experience that I would not have been able to find anywhere else.

The fellowship allowed me to gain a deeper sense of where and how technology is currently being used in government agencies. I was also able to experience firsthand what challenges government agencies face while trying to implement tech solutions to civic issues. This was a very valuable experience in preparing me to pursue a career in civic tech.

Constantly developing your tech skills would be a big advantage in your career path to public interest technology. In my own academic experience in pursuing a master of public administration at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs [at Baruch College in the City University of New York], I emphasized selecting courses that would expand my technical skills. For example, I strategically chose classes such as GIS and Python for analytics, big data technologies, and others that would greatly help me to improve my technical skills. In addition to expanding your technical skills, building a strong network of people with the same passion and interest in civic tech is crucial. Another big aspect is to find a social issue that you are passionate about and think about how technology could help you to solve or improve it. I believe finding a social issue you deeply care about could motivate you to continue pursuing a career in public interest technology despite all the challenges you might face.

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Soma Badri | Civic Innovation Corps
State of New Jersey - Office of Innovation

Northeastern University Master’s, Computer Science, Class ’23

As part of the 2022 Civic Innovation Corps, I was a full stack software engineering fellow at the New Jersey Office of Innovation, where I was a member of the Business First Stop team. I worked on the Navigator, a one-stop application that allows entrepreneurs to create and maintain a business in New Jersey. I developed several features for the application while working within a scrum-based team. As a member of the team, I actively participated in scrum meetings such as story writing, design reviews, story grooming, and sprint retro meetings. The most exciting aspect of my time at the office was that my work directly provided value to the citizens of New Jersey.

Being a Fellow helped me gain confidence in my existing skill set and knowledge. It was an excellent opportunity to showcase what I learned within the classroom and in my previous experiences. Additionally, I was able to learn skills that aren’t taught in the classroom and bridge the gap between theory and practice.

My fellowship resulted in the most concrete path that can be provided. I was given the offer to continue full time as a software engineer for the New Jersey Office of Innovation. Additionally, during the summer, I had one-on-ones with several members of the office, where I learned about the various roles within civic tech and the impact their work has on the public. This led to a deeper insight into the world of civic tech and the role it plays in our society.

In my opinion, maintaining an open mind is extremely important while attempting to embark on a PIT career. There is a wide spectrum of jobs available within PIT. I believe it is vital to research the available options and find your own area of interest as you begin your career. Additionally, programs such as Coding it Forward are a great environment in which one can learn whether a career is PIT is for them or not.

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How to PIT: Student Reflections on the PKG Social Impact Program

Student Reflections on the PKG Social Impact Program

The Public Interest Technology University Network reached out to students from the Social Impact Internships and Employment Program at MIT’s Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center, which connects undergraduate students with internships for challenging opportunities that yield significant community impact, to hear firsthand how students can engage PIT.

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In Pursuit of Public Interest Careers

In Pursuit of Public Interest Careers

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Format: Careers

The guide details fellowships and organizations, and more must-know information about social impact careers.

Download the Guide

As a 2019 grantee, Stanford University was funded to shape and model public interest technology (PIT) career resources as part of Stanford University’s Haas Center for Public Service. The Haas Center for Public Service is a robust resource for helping students learn about and transition into a public service career.

Students interested in public service careers can benefit from the handy two-pager on local government careers to a step-by-step guide to finding public service career opportunities or the comprehensive Pursuing a Career with Impact that is organized by service theme. 

PIT Finding and Navigating Careers Webinar

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Additional Stanford Haas Center for Public Service Resources

Familiarize yourself with the typical Public Service Job Application Timeline
Read more
Identify your preferred Pathways of Public Service and Civic Engagement
Read more
Year-by-year checklists: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior
Read more

More Career Resources

General PIT Careers
Read more
Sustainable Career Pathways
Read more
Sustainability Defined Podcast: Trish Kenlon, founder of Sustainable Career Pathways (Feb. 2022)
Read more
The Compensation Conversation
Read more

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Local Surveillance Oversight Ordinances White Paper

Surveillance

Local Surveillance Oversight Ordinances White Paper

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Format: White Paper 

Student white paper compares and contrasts local surveillance technology ordinances from across the country

In the past few years, jurisdictions across the country have passed local surveillance technology ordinances. These ordinances are meant to bring more transparency and democratic control to local government use of surveillance technology. They passed in response to a push by civil rights and civil liberties groups concerned with the increasingly powerful surveillance capabilities of local law enforcement agencies. 

This student white paper is an effort to catalog and compare the local surveillance technology oversight ordinances that have passed so far based on the text of the ordinances themselves. 

It is authored by Berkeley Law students Ari Chivukula ’21 and Tyler Takemoto ’22, under the supervision of Catherine Crump and Juliana DeVries.

Read the White Paper

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Miami Dade College students & Code for South Florida develop a participatory budgeting prototype

PeopleBudget.org: Miami Dade College students and Code for South Florida develop a participatory budgeting prototype

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Format: Dashboard

See the GitHub Resources

Miami Dade College (MDC), in partnership with Code for South Florida and the City of Miami, developed the Miami Budget project – an open source platform for citizen inclusion in the budget of the City of Miami. Students worked with faculty and industry professionals from Code for South Florida, Microsoft, and the City of Miami to create the participatory web application, which allows Miami residents to be informed contributors to their local budget.

The code repository, developed by students for this project, has nearly 100 branches. The fact that all branches are merged and closed shows evidence of student progress and completion of the project. Hundreds of separate commits were made by students, representing thousands of hours of work.

 

Related Resources:

Code for South Florida, Open Hack Night and People Budget Prototype Dem

 

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Networks and Mobile Systems Capstone, University of Washington (Fall 2021)

Networks and Mobile Systems Capstone,
University of Washington (Fall 2021)

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Format: Capstone Course

Networks and Mobile Systems Capstone, University of Washington (Fall 2021) 

This capstone course provides students with the opportunity to apply their computer science knowledge and skills in the context of building, and operating community-based Internet networks, based both on WiFi and 3GPP cellular technologies. The course includes a mix of classroom sessions, practical assignments, and a capstone group project addressing the need of a real-world network.

Course Website

Related Reading

Seattle Community Network, Community Networking Toolkit

A resource guide for anyone interested in starting up their own community network.
Read More

The Community Network Manual: How to Build the Internet Yourself

Read More

Seattle Community Network Docs

Resources from the Seattle Community Network, a community-run cellular (4G LTE) Internet access network dedicated to providing fair access to underserved communities all across the Puget Sound
Read More

Seattle Community Network Coverage Map

Read More

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SALUS – The Crisis Hub, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy

SALUS – The Crisis Hub,
Pepperdine University School of Public Policy

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Format: Web-based crisis and event management platform

The Crisis Hub, a crisis and event management platform that puts the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) directly into the hands of crisis managers, public safety professionals, and policymakers. Through maps and hundreds of real-time data sets, SALUS empowers end users to make data-informed decisions, effectively manage resources, share information, and generate accurate situational awareness.

Use SALUS to enhance readiness and resilience for your organization and the community you serve.

SALUS - The Crisis Hub Website

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Sewanee DataLab 2022: Purifying Wastewater for Rural Communities

Sewanee DataLab 2022: Purifying Wastewater for Rural Communities

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

The Sewanee DataLab makes the power of data analytics accessible for the greater good by training and supporting
a new generation of data scientists who work exclusively on social impact projects.

Source: Sewanee DataLab

The Dashboard

In 2022, a team of three student fellows, a professor (Deborah McGrath), researcher, and a mentor from Sewanee: The University of the South collaborated with the Sewanee Wetlands Project to create an interactive dashboard, using data collected by the Sewanee Utility District, to educate the public about the wetlands and climate change. 

The dashboard displays water quality comparisons between two wastewater treatment methods: the conventional lagoon treatment and the experimental wetland treatment. In addition, the dashboard shows yearly, monthly, daily, and hourly trends for both water quality parameters and weather conditions, such as air temperature and precipitation. 

See the Dashboard

The Data 

The data comes from the Sewanee Utility District and shows measurements of water quality parameters. 

  • SONDE: Dataset shows the measurements of different water quality variables from around 2017 to December 2021.
  • SUD: Dataset shows weather data, such as wind speed and air temperature from around October 2020 to December 2021.
  • OESS: Dataset shows temperature and rainfall measurements collected from the Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability (OESS) from January 2021 to January 2022.

Results

The original goal was to determine if the wetlands could improve wastewater treatment more efficiently than lagoon C. Our research and Dr. McGrath’s findings revealed how the wetland’s water quality variables changed over time and helped the team work toward seeing how the wetlands should be fixed to meet water standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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Student Q&A

Lauren Hutchison, Class of ’22

I found Sewanee’s DataLab through a recommendation from a friend who participated in its inaugural year. I had previously had some experience with coding, at the time a love-hate relationship, from using RStudio for a capstone project. I was by no means a great coder and had no idea at the time how much you could do with coding. DataLab is a program that begins with a bootcamp for coding that transitions into working on individual community projects. To my surprise, my knowledge of coding did not extend beyond the first day’s instruction. For the next two weeks, I learned more than I ever thought I would know about using RStudio. The boot camp instructors really went above and beyond during this time. I felt as though I not only learned how to write these codes but also was taught why and when to use them. My understanding of sorting data and creating visuals efficiently and effectively became much deeper. 

After the boot camp ended, we were sorted into project groups based on our interests. I was in the Sewanee Wetlands group, which worked with Dr. Deborah McGrath on her wetland experiment at the Sewanee Utility District. This was actually my first choice, as I am an environment and sustainability major who has always had an interest in water usage. The Sewanee Wetlands Project looks at the effectiveness of an artificial wetland in Sewanee that intends to help treat our wastewater in a sustainable way. Dr. McGrath was excellent to work with and provided a great foundation for us to work on. Her main task for our group was to create a dashboard that would provide visuals of her data that can be used now and in the future. She gave us some freedom to customize the dashboard and set it up as we thought it should go. It was at this point that you could really tell that the boot camp instruction was of high quality, as each group was able to go off on their own and begin working on their respective projects. 

Mentors and instructors were available to help when we became stuck, but I found myself really enjoying the problem-solving aspect associated with writing code. While the project did hit a few bumps along the way, I am really quite proud of the outcome. My group members and I, having limited to no coding experience, were able to produce a dashboard product that will allow Dr. McGrath to use it now and going forward, providing visuals that might one day be used to help make our wastewater cleaning process sustainable.

My first word of advice for those interested in this field would be don’t be afraid to get started. As someone who found a love for coding and computer science late in my college education, it is very possible to get into this field without a strong background in computer science. Completing any project really only requires a passion for it. I would also recommend that you utilize all the resources available to you. My project really could not have been completed without the help of my mentors and community partners, who could not have been more supportive and helpful. Lastly, have fun with it. Get creative and produce something that you are proud of. Just because you want something to be professional does not mean it has to be boring.

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The Watchword in State/Local Government Tech in 2023: People

The Watchword in State/Local Government Tech in 2023: People

Theme: Public and Critical Infrastructure

Author: Pete Peterson, Dean, Braun Family Dean’s Chair Senior Fellow, Davenport Institute for Public Engagement School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University

While much of the focus of discussions about the future of technology is on the ones and zeros of various software platforms, tech leaders in the public sector, especially at the state and municipal levels, are coming to a common conclusion: It’s really about people. A new iron triangle of trend lines — a retiring senior workforce (often dubbed “the silver tsunami”); the increasingly sophisticated needs of governments that are implementing a variety of new technology tools; and increasingly impatient citizens who expect more technologically proficient governments — is creating a historic human resource need in American public service for tech-savvy employees.

During its annual conference in October, the National Association of Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released a nationwide study of public sector technology officials, fittingly titled “The People Imperative.” As the report states, “A major topic that permeated survey responses was the challenge of maintaining and growing a diverse and sustainable workforce.” This is one of the central reasons that only 7% of public sector officials surveyed by EY said that they had “achieved their digital transformation objectives” for their governments. Taking a global perspective on the issue, the EY report notes that the major challenge facing governments is that “they lack digitally aware leaders who can reimagine the citizen experience and create an inspiring vision for change.”

The People Imperative

The challenges to hiring tech talent in the public sector go straight to the heart of broader modernization efforts across all government services, from procurement to public safety. As one state CIO offered in the NASCIO report, “Government has not yet reconciled itself to the job-hopping culture of today. Our hiring and retention practices are not based on rapid change. … This will take a complete rethinking of the recruiting, training and retention processes or we will simply be underperforming through constant churn.”

The pressure on governments to find tech-savvy professionals is forcing senior administrators to come up with different ways to attract this younger workforce, which can earn/command higher salaries in the private sector. In the NASCIO survey, 71% of CIOs said they are “building talent pipelines (e.g., partnering with local colleges/universities/technical schools)” — a rate that is more than double what many of these same respondents said in 2017 (29%) and much higher than in 2019 (44%).

This strategy of governments partnering with local universities is particularly important for the mission of PIT-UN. Academic programs in smart cities and government technology are one way to think about building talent pipelines. Another way is for municipal leaders to work directly with universities to solve localized technology challenges, and here again, PIT-UN members are playing pivotal roles. In this recent, encouraging profile in StateTech magazine, city governments from Pittsburgh to Santa Monica worked with PIT-UN members Carnegie Mellon University and Arizona State University to respond to local challenges ranging from removing graffiti to reducing double-parking.

As we’ve seen in the private sector, the use of technology to make government more effective and responsive is no longer solely the purview of IT department staff. From public transportation services using data analytics to better determine routes and schedules, to election administrators who have to consider cybersecurity threats, the public sector workforce of the near future will need to possess some level of tech expertise across almost every leadership position.

As for how we in PIT-UN can encourage more of our students to consider careers in public service, I’m reminded of a day trip organized by a friend of mine, a former NASA administrator, for a small group of us to tour NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena a few years ago. Toward the end of the visit, a member of our group asked the tour leader, “How do you retain your tech-savvy staff when competitors like Google and Facebook are vying for your talent?” Without hesitation, the JPL staffer responded, “If one of our team is considering a more lucrative offer from the private sector, I simply ask, ‘But are they working on sending a mission to explore Saturn?’ That usually keeps them.”

Of course, only a few public sector positions proffer this kind of opportunity. But in their own ways, every job in government, particularly at the local level, provides the opportunity for service to the community, and more and more, these positions will require the skills and perspectives we offer across the PIT University Network.

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