PRESENTED BY

CREATING SOLUTIONS FOR REAL PEOPLE THROUGH

CIVIC DATA

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Civic Hacking is about collaborating with others to create, build and invent to address challenges relevant to our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and country. It’s about making Big Data relevant to the lives of everyday people. The following persona and scenario provide an example of how to design a challenge that does just that.

It starts with defining a problem, understanding the needs and challenges of an individual or community. It’s about taking some time to contemplate the concerns of citizens and then looking for the kinds of data that can help. .

We have found in running numerous Civic Hacking events that designing for real people and real problems can assist Civic Hackers in building solutions that resonate.It focuses the team on human needs.

The data and technology that can help address that need comes next. Civic Hackers have the skills and web literacy necessary to find the right data. The real task is for them to use their technical and design chops to then wrangle it into a form that everyday people – the non-digerati – find useful, usable and desirable

So, go forth and solve a problem people care about. We hope these materials help.

THE ASSIGNMENT

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I used to work in accounting and business when I was younger. I was very good at my job and well respected for it and for my academic work too. I like living around younger people at least. That’s part of why I don't want to go to a retirement home, even though my family wants me to. I don't want to just see lots of older people dying, it's depressing.

MRS. CARLSON URBAN SENIOR Focus: Aging in place

PERSONAL PROFILEBirth Cohort: Before 1946Avg. Household Income: 55kAtlanta, GA

“Meeting people is so frustrating. At 79 it is hard to get to know people.” 

“I saw the wheelchairs and the walkers, and it looked like a nursing home. I Couldn’t just jump in a car and travel somewhere or go buy something.”

Sometimes I need help with something like walking more. I would normally ask my friends for these things but many of my friends have either moved away or have passed away. Sometimes one of those assistants comes to walk with me but they don't care about me, they’re not my friend. It would be nice to have a friend to got to lunch with, or to help me move my books and to have an intelligent conversation with from time to time.

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STAYING CONNECTED / ACCESS TO SERVICES

Mrs. Carlson does not know about services like senior social groups or city-sponsored programs that would help her age in place affordably and healthfully in her neighborhood. Just as importantly, some of her needs for aging in place, like feeling less isolated, or receiving home health care and help with errands are hard for distant family members to support. How can we leverage existing data and resources in the community, to fill in the gaps? How can we empower people who know or live nearby Mrs. Carlson to help address her needs? How can we inform Mrs. Carlson and her family about existing services?

MRS. CARLSSON

NEEDS & CHALLENGES

SOCIAL CONNECTION IN HOME SERVICES HELP WITH ERRANDS PURSUING INTERESTSI have lots of time and like to make lists of the music I like, write reviews and talk to friends with good taste about opera about what I know.

I write to my friend who I used to go to the Opera with, long letters. I like having personal conversations with friends who share my interests, though many of mine are dying and it’s hard to make new ones.

Searching for senior care options is a emotionally difficult process, on top of a scarcity of quality information. None of the information is personalized, either, so it is hard to see if it applies to my situation.

I don’t have anyone to call on. I’m afraid of walking by myself because I’ve had a bad fall, close to my apartment. And I don’t know who to ask during non-business hours with things like changing "re alarm batteries late at night.

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PUBLIC DATA SOURCESThere are many publicly available data sources that contain information relevant to Mrs. Carlson and the aspirations that she has. Finding relevant information is the challenge. With some savvy searching and clever coding !nd open data resources that be turned into a valuable resource for Mrs. Carlson. Many of these options have Open APIs for data access and discovery.

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PERSONAL NEEDS + DATA = VALUE

Here’s a Civic Hack that attempts to help. Social-For-All allows Mrs. Carlson's digitally connected friends and family to selectively share content from their social feeds to Mrs. Carlson via the web or email. They can share a picture, an update, a helpful aging resource, etc.... This allows Mrs. Carlson to remain socially connected to those she cares about without having to learn how to navigate social networks or online databases. By understanding Mrs. Carlson's needs this team was able to design a solution that addressed the challenge of both staying connected and staying informed.

SOCIAL RESOURCES

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MRS. CARLSSON

AgingAging

Retirement Hospitals Nursing homes Private InstitutionsFederal AOA elderly care finder Facebook  general    

NYC Senior Centers health and hospitals Population Map

Demographix aging in NY nursing homes care givers list

  Home care hospital satisfaction    NYC caregiver      Errand runners    

Phoenix Public recordsHealth and Human Services senior resources

  vital records   findthedata.org

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