Our Strategic Partnership with Code for South Florida

on November 23, 2020 / by Nikki Cabus , Code for South Florida

This is a repost of an article that originally appeared on the Code for South Florida Website

Expanding our program reach to Palm Beach County through a community-based organization

Code for South Florida is partnering with the community organization, Palm Beach Technology Association, to bring our digital services and research efforts to the 3rd most populous county in Florida. This partnership is so we can maximize reach in Justice Discovery and Workforce Development efforts.

Greg Johnson, Founding Director @ Code for South Florida

As civic technology non-profit, we recognize that modernizing government and increasing the adoption of open-source technologies do not happen overnight. It takes a relationship and a willingness to be in the work for the long haul. Our focus from Day 1 continues to be demonstrating change through services that inspire and help others to do it themselves. This is why as we grow, we recognize the need for partners who can help promote our digital service initiatives in municipalities or counties. We hope to do this through Palm Beach Tech Association in the following:

• Expanding Reach to Palm Beach County by promoting our digital services and services through their network of employers, partners and affiliates.
• Fostering relationships with the public sector to amplify “tech for social good” volunteering on Code for South Florida’s workforce development and small business initiatives.
• Collaborating on a Smart City Peer Group to drive conversations with public-private partners around cities that put people first.

Palm Beach Technology Association is a membership association that recently expanded its vision to transform South Florida into a Tech Hub. For 5-years it has grown its base of employer and partner members while creating branded content for the Palm Beach Tech ecosystem. This includes a range of content like podcasts, peer groups, member directories, and most recently the Palm Beach Tech ‘Code for Good’ Hackathon. Through this partnership, we will be added to their Member Directory, not as a paying member but as a technology partner. In addition, we will work on select community initiatives.

Code for South Florida’s mission continues to be modernizing technology in the public sphere through a people-first approach. We expect our partnership with Palm Beach Tech will help us in our workforce development and justice discovery work in South Florida, connecting us with employers interested in supporting Tech For Good initiatives, and forge a path for a Smart Peer Peer Group in 2021. Through this work, we will elevate public interest technology by fostering Civic Engagement, Digital Transformation, and Smarter Cities across South Florida.

We hope to see a brighter future built on tech for social impact, a future that is not only envisioned but measured consistently to better serve the greater public. We understand the importance of location is having roots and understanding of demographics. Our user research dives into understanding this community and its system across Miami-Dade, Broward, and now Palm Beach in the foreseeable future. To stay true to our objective we believe the best way to serve South Florida is having services that reach every County, and this partnership positions us closer to that goal.

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