Two years ago I was hopeful about the future of civic tech, but now we’re (1) extracting people’s stories in the name of research and movement building, (2) re-entrenching in Washington, D.C., …

Reflecting on the past and looking toward the future of the field The second decade of the millennium is well and done, and we are inching our way into the early days of civic technology in 2021. Over the last ten years, the field has certainly grown and become better…

In the last week of Black History Month, Nava is celebrating the contributions of Black men and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In 1821, Thomas Jennings, a free Black man born in New York City, obtained a patent for a new method of cleaning clothes that he…

Teaching Harvard Students to Embrace Design, Innovation, and Discomfort Harvard students are typically taught to have the answers. Not in DPI-663, where students from across Harvard tackle real challenges with government clients. In the course DPI-663: Technology and Innovation in Government — ­which I helped design, launch, and run when…

This essay is for my brother and anyone else looking for simple words of wisdom for uncertain times. — “What is the best piece of advice a parent or mentor has given you?” I was asked this question in July of 2016, in a windowless conference room on the sixth floor of Boston City Hall. With seven others, I was working as a summer fellow for Boston Mayor Marty…

Originally researched and written as part of an independent study for the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Public services include everything from providing public infrastructure like trains and roads, to collecting taxes, processing immigration requests, issuing passports, and providing social benefits. …