Code of Conduct Process Review

[derekeder]

Describe the initiative

After the revelations in the Huffington Post of years of abuse by civic tech ‘star’ Clay Johnson, it is clear that the 2004 Howard Dean Campaign and civic tech organizations including the Sunlight Foundation, Code for America and the Federal Government Presidential Innovation Fellows failed to act to protect staff on multiple occasions.

This represents a systemic failure to prevent abuse by some of the most prominent civic technology organizations in the US. It is clear that the #metoo phenomenon affects every community and organization, and civic tech is no exception.

Chi Hack Night has a Code of Conduct that we drafted in in December of 2014. Unfortunately, we have had to act on it in several occasions and warn or ban individuals from our event.

It is time to revisit this Code of Conduct and identify ways we can improve the process for reporting and give people a clear set of expectations on how we will enforce it.

Relevant Links

Working Google Doc

Next steps

• collect feedback and resources
• discuss in leadership council or governance meeting
• propose changes to Code of Conduct
• publish changes to Code of Conduct