HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

⬐ brandonb

FYI, if anybody has questions, there are several YC alums who have joined the government in some capacity (healthcare.gov, USDS, Nava, PIFs), and are on HN.

⬐ vijayr

What is the easiest and smallest way to get started/to help, without getting a job with the gov (which may not be possible for many folks) or without bidding for contracts? In other words, how to help from outside the gov? Is there a list of tasks somewhere that someone maintains that can be done independently?

⬐ adelevie

A colleague at 18F built https://www.govcode.org/. It's a handy directory of U.S. federal government open source projects.

⬐ brandonb

Best way would be to join the USDS "reserves"--they sometimes ask people to come for 2-3 weeks to do an evaluation of a government project. If you can get time off from your job, or you're switching jobs, I think that's a high impact way to contribute without necessarily joining fulltime.

⬐ greenNote

I had to re-watch the last 2 minutes of the video a few times to pick it out. But, https://www.whitehouse.gov/digital/united-states-digital-ser... is a place to get started.

⬐ louprado

Government contracts require long sales cycles, constant relationship management, excessive documentation, and insider experience to navigate the system. What (if anything) has improved the chances for a small team of competent outsiders ?

⬐ brandonb

Mostly because the government itself is changing the way it procures software. For example: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/201... https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/06/15/agile-bpa-is-here/