Incubator Track

The Incubator Track is for people and organizations who have identified a problem or an idea but still need to explore what a project could look like.

The goal is not simply to develop an idea or start building software. It is to better understand the problem you are trying to solve. Both community-initiated and volunteer-initiated projects can start here. Having an existing organization involved doesn’t necessarily mean the problem or solution is clearly defined.

What to Expect

The Incubator is a period of discovery, so expect to spend time asking questions than building. You’ll explore four main questions:

Is this a real problem? Who experiences it, and how do you know?
Who should be involved? Have you talked to people affected by the problem? Is there a community organization or potential partner connected to the work?
Is there a useful role for civic technology? Would technology help, or might the problem be better addressed through policy, process changes, or another approach?
Is the idea ready to become a project? Is there a clear problem, a realistic starting point, and someone prepared to lead the work?

You don’t need to have every answer figured out before starting. The point is to identify what you know and what you still need to learn.

Community-Initiated

You are part of an organization and have a problem you need support with. In this pathway, your organization defines the problem and prepares to take ownership of what gets built.

Lead the vision: Volunteers will look to you to understand the problem and validate potential solutions. Unlike a volunteer-initiated project, where the team is collectively figuring out what might work, your organization is responsible for defining the problem.
Have a consistent point of contact: Identify someone from your organization who can help develop the idea and answer questions. If the project moves forward, this person should be prepared to attend Project Nights regularly and stay engaged between sessions.
Bring in the right people: Help connect the project team with users and other internal stakeholders who can provide input on proposed solutions.
Be honest when something isn’t working: Volunteers are giving their time, and the fastest way to frustrate them is to let a project drift in the wrong direction because of internal pressures or organizational challenges. If priorities change or something isn’t working, communicate that early.
Plan for the transition: Your organization should be prepared to take ownership of what gets built once the Civic Tech DC project ends. You don’t need a detailed transition plan during incubation, but you should begin thinking about who will maintain or use the project’s work in the long term.

Volunteer-Initiated

You have a problem you care about and want to build a project around it. In this pathway, you serve as the project lead and are responsible for developing the idea and maintaining the relationship with the community partner.

Start with the problem, not the technology: You should be able to explain who experiences the problem and what evidence you have that it exists before deciding what to build.
Find a real-world partner: This can be a community organization, government office, or civic group that can benefit from the eventual output. The incubator can help with finding a partner, but the project lead is responsible for developing and maintaining that relationship.
Keep the project grounded in the partner’s needs: The project should not depend solely on your personal vision of what would be useful. Continue checking your assumptions with the people who experience the problem.
Prepare to recruit and support contributors: As the project develops, think about the different skills and perspectives you’ll need. If the project moves forward, you’ll be responsible for creating meaningful ways for people to contribute.
Plan for the transition: You should begin thinking about milestones and how the project might eventually be transferred to the community partner or another responsible entity after the active development period ends. The details can evolve as the project develops.

Regardless of whether your project is community-initiated or volunteer-initiated, the expectation is that you show up consistently, communicate openly, and remain engaged with the people your project is intended to serve.

Next Steps

The following guides walk through two important parts of developing your idea: a) Understanding the Problem and b) Finding Your People.

Once you have a clearer understanding of the problem, you may be ready for the Onboarding Track.

This is where Civic Tech DC reviews whether your idea is ready to become an official project. Not every idea will move forward, and that’s okay. Sometimes the most useful outcome of incubation is discovering that a different approach would better address the problem.