We’re making some big changes to our approach to FullConTech this year. Instead of an annual, 350-person, all-day conference, FullConTech will be split into two semi-annual, half-day, 200-person conferences. Each will have a different theme inspired by action-oriented, cross-sector collaboration. We hear a lot of criticism from those outside the industry that tech isn’t doing enough to better the community, and many techies have vocalized that they are ready to step up to the plate. Because of this, we decided the theme of our spring conference would be “civic collaboration.”

We live in a city that puts a high value on collaboration. At WTIA’s CEO Forum last year, tech leaders voted on “collaboration” as the word that best represents Seattle tech culture. Sometimes, however, “collaboration” can feel more aspirational than real because the good work that so many organizations are doing sometimes gets duplicated rather than extended and leveraged.

With a small staff, WTIA can’t afford to duplicate work. That’s why once we discovered Seattle CityClub was going to organize a very similar-themed conference to launch their Civic Health Index research the same week as FullConTech, we decided to collaborate and integrate their research into FullConTech. Seattle CityClub is a non-partisan, nonprofit education organization dedicated to informing citizens and building community leadership in the greater Seattle region.

Here is a conversation between CEO of Seattle CityClub Diane Douglas and me about how this collaboration came to be:

JP:  I’ve always respected the work of CityClub. When we first started brainstorming what FullConTech could be in 2014, I invited you to the original brainstorm session. When you emailed me in mid March about your event to share the Civic Health Index research and asked me to consider moderating a breakout session, I said I was going to be happy to support it. But when I first saw the draft program, my first thought was, “Uh-oh. This looks a lot like FullConTech’s program in terms of format, size, target audience.”

DD: I had that initial “uh-oh” moment, too, but it was accompanied by a simultaneous sense of confidence that we’d work something out in the spirit of collaboration. I mentioned the situation to our partner, Graham Thompson, Microsoft’s Seattle Civic Tech Manager, who said something elegantly simple and profound. He said, “It’s a perfect combination: Seattle CityClub’s Civic Health Index provides the “what” – the data on our region’s civic strengths and needs – while WTIA provides the “how” – connections, skills, and means for the tech sector to work on civic issues successfully.

JP: I naturally went into “how do we differentiate each other and support each other” mode. I told my content team that Friday afternoon and by Monday, they proposed we ask you if CityClub would be willing to integrate the Civic Health Index content into FullConTech and we would revise our programming to facilitate discussions with the research in mind.

DD: When you proposed that we combine efforts, I knew instantly it was the right thing to do. After all, it enables us to practice what we’re preaching, to model the kind of cross-sector collaboration that we’re advocating for our community.

JP: I think it demonstrates there are lots of good ideas happening in Seattle and many people who want to do things.

DD: There are! But that can be our curse as well as our blessing. The Civic Health Index shows we’d be better off working across sector with collective impact rather than starting multiple new projects that are siloed in their approach and limited in their results.

JP: I’m really excited about the opportunity to unveil original research to our FullConTech community as well as to enlarge the conference to include people who normally attend CityClub events. What are you most excited about in this new partnership?

DD: Me, too, Julie. I think of the tech and civic communities as boys and girls at a middle school dance. They’re excited and eager to get together, but they’re not really sure how. I think this conference will help get everyone into the middle of the dance floor kicking up their heels together. The desire is there and the time is right.
JP: Since we’re small non-profits, I’m also looking forward to sharing the work it takes to put together such an interactive conference!