Onboarding v.0.1 For NE Wisconsin Civic Hackers

If the civic hacking community does its job well, there will be first-time civic hackers at every new event, and there will periodically be people who want to learn about and start ‘doing’ civic hacking between events.

In order to quickly and effectively help first-time people understand what civic hacking is and enjoy their first experiences as a civic hacker, we need to have an appropriate onboarding process. That onboarding process should have four components:

1. Written material about civic hacking with links to various online resources.
2. Written intro to NE Wisconsin civic hacking.
3. Activity / project suggestions for new civic hackers.
4. Several core members of NE Wisconsin civic hacking group who make sure first-timers have a good initial experience. All non-first-time civic hackers welcome first-timers, answer questions and help them find a specific civic hack project.

There is way more written and video material about civic hacking than any one person has time to absorb. So the onboarding goal is to most quickly introduce first-timers to civic hacking in a way that helps them enjoy their first experience so much that they make it a priority to participate in the next civic hacking event.

For first-timers planning to go to a civic hacking event, no preparation is required -- just show up! If you’re the type who wants to be totally prepared, here are basic resources to check out before the event:

1. Catherine Bracy TED video, 
2. "What Is Civic Hacking??" blog post
3. If you’re not a programmer / coder / developer, read the blog posts “What Are Some Non-coder Activities In Civic Hacking?” and “Do Non-Programmers Participate In Civic Hacking?”

NE Wisconsin civic hacking events are listed on the DHMN Civic Hacks ‘Events & Registration’ page and are also discussed in DHMN Civic Hacks blog posts.

*Participation in NE Wisconsin civic hacking events requires and implies familiarity with and consent to our Code of Conduct, which is on DHMN Civic Hacks code of conduct page, and is based on the Code for America code of conduct. The code of conduct ensures an event that is safe and welcoming for everyone.*

To get the most out of your first civic hacking event, you should bring your laptop to the event. If you haven't already looked at the three items above, that's a good starting point after you introduce yourself to people.

There is more written and video material about civic hacking than any one person has time to absorb. So the goal is to most quickly introduce first-timers to civic hacking in a way that helps them enjoy their first experience so much that they make it a priority to participate in the next civic hacking event.

The above resources and process steps are NE Wisconsin civic hacking onboarding v.0.1. I'll check with the people who showed up at tonight's civic hacking session to get their input on what additions or deletions they've recommend for v.0.2.

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