Open Gov Hub · Hub Happenings
New initiatives, and events are back! Community-building to advance democracy.
On Thursday, October 19th, 2023, the Open Gov Hub celebrated its 11th anniversary, the “Steel Year.” An incredibly fitting anniversary, as the theme going into 2024 is “Rebuilding”: refocusing on our network and partnerships, strengthening our community, and building on the lessons learned in 2023.
2023 was a year of many firsts. We reached a new milestone of over 80 Member Organizations, launched new “Green Initiatives,” hosted fellows from all over the world, upgraded our Event services, invested in new Member benefits, and more.
Partner organizations we hosted events for included Chorus America, Imperial College London, Israel Policy Forum, National Ocean Industries Association, and UCLA.
In 2023 the Hub recruited Adam Morales to head Events and Operations Coordination. His extensive hospitality background has been a great fit. Thanks, Adam!
With the climate crisis at the forefront of many conversations, it was imperative the Hub do its part in the small ways it could.
One of the primary goals of the Open Gov Hub is to provide a coworking space that unites like-minded people and organizations. Our Members did incredible work this year. Here are a few examples:
Visit opengovhub.org for more info on all our Members.
We continued to connect our affiliate civic innovation hubs around the world. We hosted a talk during Open Gov Week in March where a leader from each hub gave a snapshot of current work, and co-hosted a panel with our affiliate hub from Albania on justice reform in Albania.
We added more professional development and networking opportunities: summer free coworking days, quarterly Ignite Talks, a food drive, and “Power of Storytelling for Nonprofits,” and much more.
The Open Gov Hub curates a collaborative experience in many ways. Our goal has always been to bring organizations together and make it easy for them to collaborate and help each other. A few examples from the past year:
Fellowships and internships are vital to the Open Gov Hub’s mission and impact. We partnered with local schools, The Fund for American Studies (TFAS), and the Community Engagement Exchange Program (CEE) to host fellows and interns ranging from high school through master’s programs, both domestic and international. Projects included “Open Government Training,” “Marketing,” and “Events Management.” Thank you, fellows!
Not long ago “Artificial Intelligence” was still science fiction to the everyday person. Open Gov Hub member the Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP) has been at the forefront of this conversation for years and continues to advocate for new laws and limits on what AI should be allowed to do.
Having expanded and upgraded our Event Space offerings in 2022, the Hub was ready for the immense demand in 2023. The Hub set a revenue record for Event Space rentals, hosting over 50 events in the Main Event Space alone. Hybrid and virtual offerings will remain a mainstay, but well-organized in-person events are as impactful as ever.
The Open Gov Hub was originally founded by two nonprofits, Development Gateway and Global Integrity. In 2023, Global Integrity closed its doors after 18 years of service to the open governance community. Without Global Integrity there would be no Open Gov Hub. Twelve years later, their small side-quest lives on. For more on their work and the projects they handed off, see Global Integrity’s projects and the Africa Integrity Indicators.
A special thank you to Andrew Haupt, Operations & Finance Director of Global Integrity, who held the organization together through a long search for an Executive Director and helped it close with dignity. And an extra special thank you to its closing Executive Director, Amy Miller-Taylor, who showed passion for GI and an incredible love for the Open Gov Hub.
In 2024 the Open Gov Hub embraces the theme of “building” and “rebuilding” as we fortify our community and networks: fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing and innovation among reformers, civil society advocates, technologists and researchers, welcoming new voices, and visiting partner sites to strengthen ties and exchange practices.
Our goal of 100 Member Organizations was fast-forwarded: the “Race to 100” campaign aimed for 100 active Member Organizations by April 25, the date of Spring Open House, the “Historic Hundred.”
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Dear Members, Partners, and Friends of the Hub: in 2023 the Open Gov Hub reached new milestones in active member organizations, revenue from events, and number of events hosted. This growth has allowed us to reinvest in our community and physical space. None of it would be possible without the continued support of our community, so thank you, on behalf of the Hub, our staff and families, and the communities you positively affect. Every game is a game of inches, and every inch we gain is a win. Our wins are your wins, and your wins are the world’s wins. We’re excited about what 2024 holds.
— Tony Rodriguez, Director of the Open Gov Hub
Special thanks to our phenomenal Advisory Council and Member Council, Development Gateway COO Vanessa Goas, and Development Gateway CEO Josh Powell for their support during a challenging year.