State Capacity Hackathon: Public Engagement · Sept 30 Sign up ↗
State Capacity Ecosystem logoState Capacity Ecosystem

The people helping government deliver find each other here.

We map who works on state capacity, bring them into one room, and build the ecosystem that turns their work into tools government can use. The aim: a government with the best technology and the talent to run it.

Sign up for the Sept 30 hackathon ↗ Wednesday, September 30
NYC · free · dinner provided
See the work
The problem

Good policy fails when the people fixing government work in silos.

State capacity is the government's ability to do what it sets out to do: issue the permit, deliver the benefit, keep the trains running. Many people care about it. Few know who else is out there or how to help. Make the work visible and it starts to move.

Inspired by Jennifer Pahlka, Recoding America.

Our mission

Map the ecosystem. Put technologists and practitioners in the same room and turn what they build into something government uses. Expand the community. Repeat.

Our vision

A visible, connected ecosystem enabling a government with the talent, tools, and operating capacity to deliver for the people it serves.

Who's in the room

Everyone helping government deliver belongs here.

Many contributors, one room. The work moves when they work together.

Practitionersbring the problems and the authority to act.
Technologistsbring working software.
Researchersbring the evidence.
Fundersbring capital to the gaps.
Advocatesbring the public case for change.
Capacity buildersbring the training and the playbooks.
And youbring whatever the work needs next.
Three pillars

What we do.

EcosystemWe map who does what EventsWe run events CommunityWe keep people connected

We're building a flywheel. The ecosystem feeds events, events create community, and community drives ecosystem growth.

300+ ORGANIZATIONS · 11 SEGMENTS Research Philanthropy GovTech Fellowships
Map the ecosystem

Who does what, in one place.

300+ organizations, a Connect board of people and problems, and a map of commonalities. Find who you might work with.

PLAYBOOKS · PROTOTYPES · POSTS Sponsors Checklist A print-ready playbook: who owns what PROTOTYPES RUN LIVE IN THE BROWSER 11 TOOLS · 4 PLAYBOOKS · 9 POSTS
Build community

What we learn, anyone can use and build on.

A Slack for practitioners and builders, a Substack that makes the case, and playbooks so the next organizer can run the format without us in the room.

Join the community →
Why it works

Three things move government.

1
Proof

Working software, built by technologists and practitioners together.

2
Method

A playbook, so the next room doesn't need us in it.

3
Network

A standing group of people that keeps producing both.

The record so far

What's been built so far.

300+organizations, refreshed periodically
80+builders at the first hackathon
20prototypes in one evening, 4 still live
1,000+downloads of one build-night tool
Who we work with
CUNY PIT Lab
Civic Roundtable
Latest

Recent writing and events.

Build with us

The field needs you in it.

Join the conversation, make yourself findable, and be in the room next time we build.