Summit 2024 Preview: Breakout Tracks and Mainstage

A sneak peek at the events, speakers, and inspiration you’ll find at Code for America Summit 2024

We’re one month out from Code for America Summit 2024 in Oakland, CA, and we couldn’t be more excited to share a sneak peek of some of this year’s conference content. 

We’re so grateful to everyone who’s presenting this year—and to help you plan your Summit experience, we’re sharing a preview of some of what will be offered this year. Breakout sessions are split into four tracks: Service Design + Delivery, People Power + Community, Policy + Administration, and Emerging Technologies + Innovation. Here’s a look at what you can expect in each one:

Service Design + Delivery is all about making sure that policies live up to their potential. Through thoughtful design and implementation frameworks, we can better ensure that those who rely on government services are able to access them efficiently, with dignity, and without burdens. Attendees will be able to explore sessions like “You can simplify your work with low-code tools (even if you think you’re not technical),” featuring members of the U.S. Digital Response talking about how to use low-code and no-code tools to automate workflows—with a hands-on element for trying out the techniques in real time. 

People Power + Community showcases projects and people making significant change in communities throughout the country—all while elevating those with the lived experience necessary to design the best solutions. Check out sessions like: “Designing and conducting culturally-inclusive, community-based, participatory research” led by civic technology company Coforma, which will cover concrete ways attendees can use the principles of participatory research in their current project environments. 

Policy + Administration focuses on the nuts and bolts of government workflows. Got a niche question about how a government got something done? This is the track for you. There will be sessions like “Unleashing the power of procurement: Data-driven contracting approaches for better decision making,” a panel discussion featuring public servants from Los Angeles, Boston, and Portland sharing how they’re improving procurement data, building and integrating procurement products, and aligning policies and processes for better government spending.

Emerging Technology + Innovation is a new track for Summit this year! Sessions in this track will be all about leveraging the latest technological advancements to build more equitable and efficient public services. There will be several options for those interested in the ethical application of AI to big challenges, like “Human-centered, machine assisted: Deploying a chatbot to improve the GetCalFresh experience.” In that session, members of the Code for America team will describe how we’re thinking about the use of AI in handling volume while maintaining a human touch, using examples from our benefits application assister for SNAP in California.

Interested in ethical AI at Code for America? Check out Summit speaker Jenn Thom’s interview in our Leading the Field series—where civic tech and government leaders tell us about their career paths, passions, and visions for the future of the field.

This year, we’re also bringing back lightning talks, which are five-minute dives into a variety of topics. Check out sessions like “How to improve software when you don’t build software” and “The role of public technology in disaster recovery: An account from the Maui wildfires.”

You can start planning your Summit experience and explore all breakout sessions and lightning talks on the Summit website!

When you’re not in breakouts, we’ll welcome everyone at Summit to Mainstage to hear from exciting speakers about some of the most pressing issues in civic tech and government. Here are some of the faces you’ll see on the big stage this year:

Summit always brings together a community of lifelong learners who are eager to share knowledge, offer advice, and commiserate over common challenges. We can’t wait to welcome (or welcome you back!) to this special event.

Tickets for Summit are still on sale! Grab yours today and join us for Code for America Summit 2024 from May 28-30 in Oakland, CA.

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