⚖️ Memorandum of Understanding - Open Savannah and The City of Savannah
Between
Open Savannah(“The Brigade”),
and
The City of Savannah, Ga.(“The City”)
This Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) sets forth the terms and understanding between Open Savannah–– a volunteer brigade of Code for America–– and the City of Savannah to collaborate on civic tech and open data projects for the betterment of the City, its employees and its residents.
Background
Given the ongoing tightening of municipal budgets in cities across the nation – with Savannah being no exception – it has become more and more prohibitively expensive and time- consuming for the City with its current resources to keep pace with the blazing speed of technological change at a level that has come to be expected by both the City’s residents and the City’s business communities. With municipal IT departments stretched thin and a shortage of specialized in-house talent on hand, the City has been forced in recent years into entering the procurement process, resulting in expensive multi-year contracts with enterprise firms located out of town to accomplish the basic duties expected of municipal governments in the twenty-first century. Code for America, a 501(C3) dedicated to the goal of spurring innovation in city governments via implementation of“Open Government” principles and practices, recognizes this gulf between budgetary reality and community expectations, and thus sponsors brigades of local volunteer technologists and data people to collaborate with their city governments across the nation to build technological solutions to these issues faced by cities. Open Savannah and its core leadership team was officially approved by Code for America to serve as the local brigade for Greater Savannah in January 2017, with Carl V. Lewis, of Montgomery Street, serving as Brigade Captain, along with Gary Skoglind, of Wilmington Island, serving as Brigade Product Manager.
Purpose
This MOU will form the basis of a formal but in no way binding working relationship between Open Savannah and The City of Savannah, and attempt to establish the parameters in which the partnership shall
exist. In all cases, The Brigade is bound to abide by the guidelines of Code for America to remain eligible for continuing funding from Code for America. These guidelines dictate that the Brigade never accept money or other material contributions for its volunteer services rendered to the City, that it upholds all confidentiality requests concerning sensitive data that may emanate from the City, and that, for all its projects, it shall seek to address a clear civic need that benefits as many citizens as possible, reduces costs to the City as much as possible, and overall improves the quality of life.
The above goals will be accomplished by undertaking the following activities:
Bi-weekly Hacknights at which the Brigade meets in a publicly announced location at a
set time to work on projects.
Regular community feedback forums to discuss the needs and desires of the city’s
residents concerning municipal data and services.
Occasional civic hackathons with cash prizes awarded from donations made by
community partners, including small businesses and local nonprofits.
The funding and reimbursement of regular brigade operating expenses by Code for America, including venue space, food at events and promotional materials.
Reporting
The Brigade will report to City Council at its monthly meetings at least five(5) times during the calendar year with updates on progress being made and possible requests for further non- financial collaboration on behalf of the City. The City also agrees to make reasonable accommodations to cooperate with Brigade efforts when feasible, and to communicate with Brigade leadership primarily via the City’s Public Information Office.
Funding
It is imperative to reiterate that no funding shall in any way for any purpose be requested by or accepted by the Brigade that comes from the City’s budget. This document constitutes no financial obligations whatsoever.
Duration
This MOU is at-will and may be modified by mutual consent of authorized officials from Open Savannah or The City of Savannah. This MOU shall become effective upon signature by the authorized officials from the Brigade and the City and will remain in effect until modified or terminated by any one of the partners by mutual consent. In the absence of mutual agreement by the authorized officials from the Brigade and the City, this MOU shall end on Feb. 23, 2017.
Contact Information
Partner name: Open Savannah
Partner representative: Carl V. Lewis
Position: Brigade Captain
Address: 515 Montgomery St., 411, Savannah, GA 31401
Background
Purpose
Reporting
Funding
Duration
Contact Information