Above: Hack for Change 2015, at The LAB Miami. Photo courtesy Code for Miami.

Video: Code for Miami on YouTube.

Rebekah Monson is co-organizer of Code for Miami, which Knight Foundation supports to expand economic opportunity and promote civic engagement.

Developers, designers, government staff, community organizers and civic-minded volunteers in Miami will join Code for Miami and thousands of volunteers throughout the United States on Saturday, June 4, for National Day of Civic Hacking, or Hack for Change, an annual event that asks volunteers to hack their communities.

Miami’s fourth annual Hack for Change event, held at The Idea Center at Miami-Dade College will include national and local challenges, with projects about housing affordability, climate change, social services referrals, and open data from Miami-Dade County. Code for Miami is collecting and organizing local project pitches now via Github and the Code for Miami Slack group.The event is sponsored by Knight Foundation.

People with all skill sets are invited to contribute at Hack for Change, said Code for Miami organizer Danielle Ungermann. “We need more than just coders to make these projects great,” she said. “People who can write well, those who know their communities well, designers and anyone who wants to make Miami-Dade County better are welcome.”

Hack for Change participants provide valuable insight and prototypes for community organizations and government agencies. In previous years, projects have included visualizing data for the Florida Department of Financial Services and Miami-Dade County 311, building prototype notification apps for the Red Cross, and mapping and analyzing data from various federal agencies.

Hacking for Change with Mauro Perez at The LAB Miami. Photo credit: David Leonard.

Here are just a few of the many challenges that civic hackers of all types may choose to address at Miami’s 2016 Hack for Change:

Ready to Work Español Challenge: How might we provide native Spanish speakers new to Miami with access to job-driven training? Volunteers will build products and prototypes that help connect Spanish-speaking job seekers to training that will teach them skills to get jobs. We’ll then share these results with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Applying for Affordable Housing: How might we improve the affordable housing application process? Code for America is researching how to improve the affordable housing application process. Hackers will help understand what processes exist now and gather experiences and insight from those who work in or who use affordable housing in our community.

Applying for a Business License: How might we make the processes to start a business in Miami easier? Code for Miami is researching the steps that small business owners must take to launch a venture — from permitting, to licensing and more.

Applying for Your Criminal Record: How might we make it easier for people to get a copy of their criminal record? Getting a copy of your criminal record is the first step in many important justice system processes, like getting felonies expunged. It can be difficult to obtain a copy as the process differs by county.

Miami-Dade CUT Group: How might we provide diverse user insight to improve civic technology in our community? Participants will help with preliminary mapping and community organizing for the Miami-Dade Civic User Testing Group, a Knight Cities Challenge winning project that will offer Miami-Dade County real-world feedback from residents about the county’s new technology.

Miami’s Hack for Change National Day of Civic Hacking will occur Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Idea Center at Miami Dade College. The event is free and all are welcome, but registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/national-day-of-civic-hacking-with-code-for-miami-tickets-24942287052.

Miami Hack for Change is sponsored by Knight Foundation and Code for America. Food and beverage sponsors include LiveNinja and Concrete Beach Brewery.