Since 2016, the federal The Opportunity Project has brought the public and private sectors together to harness open data to prototype digital products that solve pressing socioeconomic and environmental problems. In 2020, the Beeck Center partnered with the Centre for Public Impact, Google.org, and the Knight Foundation to bring this model to Knight cities.

Our model for The Opportunity Project for Cities uses local open data—machine-readable, public data made freely available online— to provide critical information for digital products that address pressing community challenges while truly meeting residents’ needs. This model importantly centers community members as co-creators for civic solutions rather than deferring solely to governments and technologists. Ensuring residents’ lived experience drives the use and application of data is an important shift for government and industry to drive change for the better.