Coding with Civics in Mind

new group wants to take public policy and city data into the 21st century

Eric Christenson |

ONE FOR THE CODE. Chippewa Valley native Aaron Salmon is spearheading Code For Eau Claire.
ONE FOR THE CODE. Chippewa Valley native Aaron Salmon is spearheading Code For Eau Claire.

Code For Eau Claire is a local group of civic-minded tech experts who aim to use their computer skills to do some good in the community around them. That means using the collective brainpower of the Chippewa Valley’s coding community to accomplish all kinds of cool stuff: visualizing city data, streamlining local government processes, and even fostering public/private partnerships of all kinds.

“I saw first-hand how much it rallied the tech community and helped people engage with their local government ... I’ve been fired up ever since.” – Code For Eau Claire’s Aaron Salmon on working with Code For America

The Eau Claire group is a brigade of Code For America, a nationwide nonprofit that aims to get local governments up to speed with powerful 21st century technology, ultimately making governments more accessible and open to the public themselves.

So when Chippewa Valley native Aaron Salmon moved back to Eau Claire after years spent building up his tech career in Chicago, he kept that in mind as something that could be implemented – and actually have a positive impact – here.

“I started getting involved with the Chicago OpenGov community around the time that Chicago was an official Code For America city, and I saw first-hand how much it rallied the tech community and helped people engage with their local government,” Salmon said. “I got to work with some truly amazing people and organizations during that time, and I’ve been fired up ever since.”

Salmon is starting to lay the groundwork for Code For Eau Claire, but the nonprofit group will need volunteers to make its goals real. Obviously, anyone with coding skills and tech knowhow is encouraged to contribute, but the group is not limited to just coders. Anyone who’s passionate about public policy and local issues, or actively involved in community groups could find some value here.

For seasoned developers, it’s an opportunity to use their skills and experience in new ways to solve problems that actually have an affect on the community at large. For policy people, it’s an opportunity to talk about their processes and challenges – as well as figuring out the ways these civic tech tools could help inform upcoming decisions.

“Long term I would love to see the City of Eau Claire adopt open data policies and promote access to government data,” Salmon said. “That data could then be used to help increase civic participation, streamline processes, provide answers and insight into individual issues, or spark public-private partnerships to further improve the lives of people in the area.”

The group is having an open meeting on Jan. 18 in the new Lazy Monk Brewing taproom, 97 W Madison St., to get interested participants together. Moving forward, the group aims to connect with all kinds of community groups, figure out what their needs are, and do their best to help.

To learn more, check out the Code For Eau Claire on Facebook at www.facebook.com/codeforeauclaire or email Aaron Salmon at aaronusalmon@gmail.com.