Technology

Aspen Tech Policy Hub COVID Challenge Grant Demo Day: Informing COVID Response & Communication Through Tech

October 21, 2020  • Aspen Tech Policy Hub

The COVID-19 crisis has turned many of our traditional communication and information systems upside-down. How can we build resilient tools for accessing resources and information in the midst of a pandemic?

Join Aspen Tech Policy Hub Challenge Grantees as they showcase their projects focused on the theme: Informing COVID Response & Communication Through Tech. Following the presentations of the projects, civic tech leader and former US Deputy Chief Technology Officer Ryan Panchadsaram gave further remarks. The projects presented were:

1) COVID-19 DataCollector by Michael Morisy & MuckRock: Bringing together MuckRock’s network of 3,000 newsrooms with a crowdsourcing platform designed to harness civic interest in contributing to quality data on the COVID-19 crisis, the COVID-19 DataCollector helps quickly scale efforts to collect and analyze the data needed to inform policy, original reporting, and community responses to the evolving health and economic crises.

2) Responsive Messaging for COVID-19 Support by Brendan Lind & Human Agency: The demand for and inequity in accessing resources has never been greater, from self-screening for COVID-19 to applying for jobs. Human Agency’s project, Responsive Messaging for Covid Support, is programmed to engage directly with individuals by web, SMS, or messenger app, connecting them to specific resources in their community and interacting throughout the process of accessing what they need.