Code for America is only a few months old, and all our outreach has been by word of mouth, so we are very excited to have 11 applications for the first development cycle. The applicants are:

• Hartford, CT
• Boulder, CO
• Boston, MA
• Lansing, MI
• Little Rock, AR
• Philadelphia, PA
• District of Columbia
• Raleigh, NC
• Chicago, IL
• Seattle, WA
• Colorado Government Association of Information Technology, on behalf of cities in Colorado

These cities (and other agencies) were asked to propose up to three projects that the Code for America fellows will build for them, if their city is chosen, in 2011, and the ideas they’ve generated are inspiring.  A sample of the kinds of applications they’ve proposed:

• A mobile public safety application that would allow police officers in the field to access crime data in real time and residents to interact with police officers in their neighborhoods.
• Reporting features for 311 data that would allow residents, via a Web interface, to extract 311 data and analyze that data for their own purposes by using a series of interactive reporting capabilities.
• A centralized, virtual resource center for businesses that provides for real-time tracking of all interactions with the city, including licensing, permitting and incentives.
• A civic engagement portal to help community groups post projects, allow citizens to search for volunteer opportunities, and connect planning and city council decisions to neighborhoods.

What’s next?  Our challenge now is to select three to five of the 11 projects submitted that best fit the goals of Code for America.  In Phase Two of the application process we work with the applicant cities to refine the scope and feasibility of their projects and along with a committee of experts, selected the Code for America 2011 cities.

Thanks to all who applied and all who helped get the word out in such a short time.  We’re excited about what’s to come.