2.1 Vision Setting
Civic tech projects seldom move in a straight line (and that’s OK!). But successful projects invest the time up front to craft a clear and compelling vision and roadmap for their work.
Why it matters for project success:
Having a vision for your project, with goals and milestones, will help you stay motivated and prioritize your efforts. There are lots of little decisions to make throughout your project and a clear vision can help you align on the best way forward.
A clear and compelling vision also helps you attract volunteers or convince stakeholders to lend you their time or resources.
What it looks like in practice:
- Define your purpose and vision: Work as a team to articulate why your project exists, what community need it addresses and what principles will guide you. You should be able to summarize this in a single sentence, e.g. “"We're building a tool to help residents easily report and track local infrastructure issues, making our city more responsive and transparent."
- Set clear goals and milestones: Establish concrete, measurable objectives that align with your overall purpose. And even though your team is volunteering their time, don’t be afraid of setting deadlines.
- Revisit regularly: Make time to review and refine your vision and roadmap, so you can adapt to changes in circumstance or incorporate what you’re learning. Think of your vision as a set of strong opinions, weakly held.