The Future of Grassroots Engagement,...

The Future of Grassroots Engagement, Today

Gabriela Schneider Communications Director gab@sunlightfoundation.com Twitter: @stereogab

We use tech to empower the grassroots

Bridging gap between gov-time & real time

Since Sunlight is nonpartisan, we provide unbiased, comprehensive data

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Government-Online.aspx

Going online for government information

Americans are turning to the Internet for information about laws, how government spends tax dollars, how politics is influenced…but gov’t isn’t quite online yet

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Civic-Engagement/Summary-of-Findings.aspx

Social media is spurring civic engagement

http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/February/Pew-Internet-Mobile.aspx

As of May 2013: 91% of American adults have a cell phone 56% of American adults have a smartphone 28% of cell owners own an Android 25% own an iPhone 4% own a Blackberry

As of September 2013: 24% of Americans ages 16 & older own an e-reader 35% of Americans ages 16 & older own a tablet

& the Internet’s going mobile

Advocates now expect instant answers

If the medium is the message (or massage, as Marshall McLuhan said), smartphones are about connecting

individuals to real-time data about the world around them.

•  Learn more about your members of Congress

•  Get in touch with them •  Follow the latest bills •  See floor activity •  Explore votes from the palm

of your hand •  Powered by open-sourced

data from Sunlight’s APIs (so you could make your own app, too)

Congress.SunlightFoundation.com/

We put Congress at your fingertips

“Quite simply, the most painless way to keep up to date on a very painful topic: what Congress is

up to.” -Salon.com

•  When legislative debates get stuck in U.S. Congress, major legislative action happens in state capitols •  Find & contact your legislators •  Review their votes •  Search upcoming legislation •  Search for copycat legislation across states (e.g., stand your ground laws) •  Track bill progress •  Open API so you can remix the data •  Built by open government community! •  Downloaded over 20,000 times (not bad considering many state legislatures are only in session every other year)

OpenStates.org

Open States

•  FREE search and rapid alert system for tracking public policy issues you care about – on federal and state level •  Create email notifications or SMS alerts •  Search by keywords, phrases, federal codes, etc. •  Be the first to know when you can participate in federal rulemaking – these comment periods are usually very short •  Get an alert if member of Congress mentions your organization or issue •  Data powered by original sources: GPO, Senate/House websites, state legislatures and the Federal Register •  More than 4,000 users

Scout.SunlightFoundation.com

Scout

Do something inspiring

Make advocacy easy for your members

itunes.apple.com/us/app/lobby-day/id527830476?mt=8

Lobby Day app by Beekeeper Group •  Promote congressional

meetings by posting updates, photos and videos to social networks, including Facebook, Twitter & Foursquare

•  Review organizational talking points

•  Watch videos specifically related to the event

•  View lobby day meeting schedules

•  Review information on lawmakers from official sites and Wikipedia

As you check-in, leave a tip…

Our free data on bills & legislators power advocacy across the political spectrum

sunlightfoundation.com/API

…like by Participant Media

and Wikipedia

…to name a few

Integrate gov data in your CMS

This is a Wordpress plug-in used by NPR’s State Impact to seamlessly integrate data on bills and reps into blog posts

Integrate gov data in your CMS

CongressLookup makes it easier to launch a grassroots campaign for your favorite cause while keeping visitors on

your site

Mobile apps using Sunlight APIs

FWD.us Hackathon

“FWD.us plans to incorporate one group’s app, called Push for Reform, into their website. The app lets people contact

the congressional representatives for their

district via social media or phone. It also grades each

lawmaker on their support for immigration legislation by

culling data from the Sunlight Foundation and FWD.us.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/191176-zuckerberg-awards-dreamers-for-immigration-lobbying-

aps

THANK YOU!!

Gabriela Schneider Communications Director gab@sunlightfoundation.com Twitter: @stereogab