{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "title" : "A Sense of Purpose: Strong Communities Can Overcome Big Challenges |Digital.gov",
    "description": "A Sense of Purpose: Strong Communities Can Overcome Big Challenges",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/04/a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"A Sense of Purpose: Strong Communities Can Overcome Big Challenges","summary" : "Cook-offs, bike rides, parades and dance parties—these are not the traditional public hearing-style events for which government agencies are known. But these events helped to fuel the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rebuild by Design Challenge (PDF, 484 KB, 1 page, January 2016), boosting the collective morale among a complex, multidisciplinary network of engaged","date" : "2016-01-04T13:00:44-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"eric-beidel" : "Eric Beidel"},"topics" : {
        
            "challenges-and-prize-competitions" : "Challenges and prize competitions",
            "crowdsourcing-and-citizen-science" : "Crowdsourcing and citizen science"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2016-01-04-a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/01/2016-01-04-a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/01/2016-01-04-a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/01/2016-01-04-a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges.md","slug" : "a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/04/a-sense-of-purpose-strong-communities-can-overcome-big-challenges/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eCook-offs, bike rides, parades and dance parties—these are not the traditional public hearing-style events for which government agencies are known.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut these events helped to fuel the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) \u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/01/FINAL-Rebuild-by-Design-09302015.pdf\"\u003eRebuild by Design Challenge\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 484 KB, 1 page, January 2016), boosting the collective morale among a complex, multidisciplinary network of engaged stakeholders. \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/12/600-x-400-Reach-out-Zoonar-RF-Zoonar-Thinkstock-127004816.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Hands reaching together for a handshake\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause the challenge’s community structure was based on a common goal—to rebuild following Hurricane Sandy—participants left their egos at home, shared information and learned from one another. The desire to serve a cause greater than themselves brought thousands of people and hundreds of organizations together.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Designers were learning from finance people and finance people were learning from designers and they were all learning from hydrologists,” said Scott Davis, who helped administer the HUD challenge, which included a series of community events in various neighborhoods.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCurrently on loan from HUD to the RAND Corporation, Davis continues to work on issues related to disaster recovery, resilience and adaptation. During a recent \u003ca href=\"http://www.challenge.gov\"\u003eChallenge.gov\u003c/a\u003e webinar, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhOZP61_XI\u0026amp;index=1\u0026amp;list=PLd9b-GuOJ3nFeJeAHAn3Z5opohjxIw8OC\"\u003eBuilding a Community\u003c/a\u003e, he joined an expert panel to describe how developing strong, problem-solving communities can increase the likelihood of a successful challenge and provide momentum even after the competition.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-new-normal\"\u003eThe New Normal\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Americans become increasingly mobile, the traditional concept of community has expanded from a city, town or state to include the online domain, with networks stretching the globe. \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/12/600-x-431-Crowdfunding-nevarpp-iStock-Thinkstock-467787672.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Individual and teams contribute money to fund a solution\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/16/challenges-crowdsourcing-citizen-science-whats-the-dif/\"\u003eFederal crowdsourcing events\u003c/a\u003e, such as challenge and prize competitions, represent an inexpensive way to bring together diverse mindsets to solve problems of various scope and scale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“People feel a sense of purpose” when they are part of a community, said Jono Bacon, director of community at GitHub. He added that members of a community gain access to tools, knowledge and other people.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd while the concept of community may be fading in the physical world, it has grown in the online world. Just look at Wikipedia, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/12/17/with-every-tool-possible-supporting-humanitarian-aid-efforts-through-crowdsourced-mapping/\"\u003eOpenStreetMap\u003c/a\u003e, the Open Compute Project and more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese initiatives are known as “write” communities and include people brought together by the idea of improving something, said Bacon, who until recently led community efforts at XPRIZE.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA community grows and takes shape somewhat naturally, but Bacon and Davis also offered advice for how to manage that growth:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"on-size\"\u003eOn Size\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommunities can grow to any size. For large communities, the key is providing a framework for navigating the community without getting bogged down in bureaucracy, Bacon said.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdded Davis: This will allow people to give to and take from the community in a meaningful way.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"on-cost\"\u003eOn Cost\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommunity building and engagement should not be shortchanged in the funding process. Convince funders early on that there will be a larger return on investment if they adequately staff the community building aspect. “Don’t look at it as the cost to do it, look at the cost of not doing it,” Davis said. “The benefits will extend in ways you can’t really imagine in the moment.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe value of community—relationships, creativity and collaboration—is difficult to define in economic terms or with performance metrics. Define realistic ways to chart the success of your community and build a strategy around that. After all, “unity is in many ways an intangible value,” Bacon said.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"on-getting-started\"\u003eOn Getting Started\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt takes a variety of different approaches. Look at the demographic you want to build out and engage with that community. Be authentic. “The very best people who build communities are people building communities for themselves,” Bacon said. For example, software engineers building a community for software engineers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuilding a community from scratch can be overwhelming. Keep in mind that you’re building a community of communities that overlap in interest areas and professional applications. “Take advantage of existing communities and those mechanisms and tools and build with those pieces so you don’t have to build everything from scratch,” Davis said.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"on-expectations\"\u003eOn Expectations\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBe careful when hiring a community manager. There is ambiguity in how the industry defines community management, evangelism and community engagement. “Be really clear in what you’re looking for,” Bacon said. “I’ve seen mismatched expectations.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEngage the end-user early on the front end. Don’t come in at the end and say, “Here is your solution, does this work?” Davis said.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, Bacon and Davis emphasized that the positive impact doesn’t end once a winner is announced. The community formed during a challenge can help continue the work after the competition is over.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhOZP61_XI\u0026amp;w=600]\u003cem\u003eNext up in their training series, Challenge.gov will cover the importance of capitalizing on the momentum of a challenge after a prize has been awarded.\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdLSB2rjV9w\"\u003ePost-Prize Industry and Post-Prize Impact webinar\u003c/a\u003e will take place on Jan. 14.\u003c/em\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThese Challenge.gov training modules are part of a seven-part expert training series, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/14/challenge-gov-program-launches-new-training-opportunities/\"\u003eHow to Design \u0026amp; Operate Prizes to Maximize Success\u003c/a\u003e, hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/digitalgov-university/\"\u003eDigitalGov University\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterested in more great content like this? Sign up for our \u003ca href=\"https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USHOWTO/subscriber/new\"\u003edaily or weekly DigitalGov newsletter\u003c/a\u003e!\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}