We connect the people making government work better.
We're a community of government practitioners, technologists, researchers, funders and everyone else working to help government deliver.
We map the ecosystem of 300+ organizations helping government grow its capacity to deliver.
We host events such as build nights, demo nights, salons and meet-ups, where government practitioners and technologists build tools for government together.
We're building a community that makes this work more visible and keeps the conversation going, through essays, free playbooks and a Slack for people doing the work.
Good policy fails when the people fixing government work in silos.
State capacity is government's ability to do what it sets out to do: issue the permit, deliver the benefit, keep the trains running.
Plenty of people want to contribute to a government that delivers, but few know who else is out there or how to help. When the work is visible, people find each other and it moves faster.
Inspired by Jennifer Pahlka, Recoding America.
Connect the people working to improve government. Help them build tools government can use.
A government with the technology and talent to deliver for the people it serves.
We're building a more visible, connected state capacity ecosystem.
We map who's helping government grow its capacity.
A searchable directory of agencies, nonprofits, researchers, funders and companies, plus a board of people and open opportunities.
We bring people together to build tools for government.
Government practitioners bring real problems and technologists bring the skills, so mixed teams leave the night with working prototypes.
We share what we learn so others can build on it.
A Slack for people doing the work, a Substack on what's working, and free playbooks so anyone can run these events in their own city.
The directory fills our events, events grow the community, and the community grows the directory.
Working tools from our build nights and our own prototyping.
See all of them →
Sept 2026 hackathonBudget Requests
Sept 2026 hackathonHearts & Minds
Sept 2026 hackathonBoardCast
SCE team prototypeGrocery Store Siting Tool
SCE team prototypeNYC Summons Navigator
SCE team prototypeNYC Affordable Housing Approvals Navigator
June 2026 build nightTIDELINE: Flood-Resilience Capital Tracker
June 2026 build night311 Learning Game
Find who's working on your problem.
Tell Search who you are and what you need, and it finds the organizations, people and open opportunities that match. Then add yourself to Connect so the right people can find you.
State Capacity Hackathon: Public Engagement
Mixed teams of practitioners and technologists built working prototypes for two scoped themes, judged against real problems.
Bring us a problem. We'll bring the builders.
Agencies bring a real problem and we run a build night on it at no cost. Sponsors provide a venue or a judge and help shape what we take on.
We write about what government needs to deliver.
We publish essays on technology, talent and AI in government from people doing the work. Join the Slack to discuss and debate them with us, and be the first to hear about new events.
Working to make government deliver? You're already part of this.
Bring the problems and the authority to act on them.
Bring the skills to build working software.
Bring the evidence on what works.
Bring capital to the gaps.
Make the public case for change.
Bring the training, skills and playbooks.
Bring new talent into government.
Tell the story of what is working.
Bring whatever the work needs next.
Recent writing and events.
All posts ↗Thoughts from our second State Capacity AI Hackathon. Sep 2026Event State Capacity Hackathon: Public Engagement
About 80 builders took on two scoped themes in front of five judges. Sep 2026Essay Peeling the Banana
A short guide to diagnosing and solving problems in government. Sep 2026Essay Governments must pace the frontier too
How AI can solve real constituent problems and stay accountable. Aug 2026Essay Where are government's AI engineers?
Agencies need AI engineers on their own payroll before vendors build that layer for them. Jun 2026Event A Civic Tech Build Night
80+ builders and 20 tools in one evening, judged against real agency problems.
Get involved.
Meet people between events in the Slack. Get new writing in your inbox.