http://civiccommons.com/about/In the face of budget crises, government entities at every level must cut costs and find efficiencies. An enormous opportunity lies in their IT infrastructure — the technology they require to provide their citizens essential services. For the most part, each city, county, state, agency and office builds or buys their technology solutions independently, creating huge redundancies in civic software and wasting millions of tax-payer dollars. They should be able to work together.Civic CommonsCC_fb27d798-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aAn independent non-profit organization, Civic Commons will help government entities share code and best practices, reform procurement practices, and learn to function not only as a provider of services but as a platform to which an ecosystem of industry can add value for government and its citizens.Code for AmericaCode for America was founded to help the brightest minds of the Web 2.0 generation transform city governments. http://codeforamerica.org/OpenPlansOpenPlans is a non-profit technology organization focused on civic engagement and open government. http://openplans.org/OCTOOffice of the Chief Technology Officer, District of Columbia http://octo.dc.gov/DC/OCTO/_fb27d9a0-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aSharing technology for the public good_fb27dafe-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aAgilityBe Agile. While being inclusive and open, retain the ability to move quickly and prove ideas through actionsConnectionsBe a ConnectorUnobtrusivenessNever get in the way. For efforts that are already successfully under way, Civic Commons’ role is to be an information exchange, to provide discoverability, and to provide advice where needed; not to set up barriers or process requirementsCode SharingFacilitating the sharing of code among government entities, with an eye towards developing an “Open Civic Stack”_fb27db94-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2a1Government Entities_fb27dc2a-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aGovernment ConnectionsConnecting governments throughout all phases of technology procurement, and building systems for more transparent & informed technology choices_fb27dcb6-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2a2_fb27dd4c-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aOpen Data and StandardsDeveloping and supporting Open Data and Open Standards as foundations of an “Open Civic API”_fb27ddec-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2a3_fb27de8c-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aBest PracticesSpreading government technology best practices_fb27df2c-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2a4_fb27dfea-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2aCivic Hackers CommunityBuilding a community of “civic hackers” and give them clear opportunities to assist in the development of government technology_fb27e09e-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2a5_fb27e15c-bdcd-11df-b5d5-7d847a64ea2a2010-09-11http://civiccommons.com/about/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net