PolicyPulse MPLS

Minneapolis

Policy + Climate + Civic Tech

Plain-language policy, fast—so more people can participate.

A bill/ordinance summarizer that produces a one-page brief with who’s impacted, key dates, and suggested questions for decision-makers.

Local fit: Heat and winter resilience, neighborhood-based organizing, and a strong ecosystem of mutual aid and tool libraries—good for offline-first and community infrastructure tools.

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Core user stories

As a resident, I see a one-page brief of an ordinance with who’s impacted and what changes.
As an advocate, I compare two drafts to spot meaningful language changes.
As a staffer, I generate FAQs and stakeholder questions for a public meeting.

Clickable demo scope (what you build)

Upload/paste policy text → one-page brief (seeded examples).
Draft comparison view highlighting changed sections (basic diff).
Shareable public link with key dates + action prompts.

Team of four roles

Product & Policy Lead: Choose 2–3 sample ordinances and define the ‘one-page brief’ schema; write neutrality and bias guardrails.
UX / Frontend: Build paste/upload → brief → draft compare views; ensure readability and accessibility.
Backend / Data: Implement text processing pipeline (basic); store drafts; generate shareable pages.
Partnerships / Story / Ops: Interview one staffer/advocate; validate time savings; deploy and pitch.

54-hour build plan

Hours 0–6: Pick one user segment; do 5–8 quick interviews; lock the “one workflow” MVP.
Hours 6–24: Build the clickable flow end-to-end with stubbed data; draft the policy narrative.
Hours 24–40: Add one policy-ready output (brief/dashboard/export); tighten UX; seed data for 2–3 neighborhoods.
Hours 40–54: Polish demo script; add analytics mock; finalize pitch + one-page handout.

What to show in the final demo

The “happy path” (one user completes the core task in under 2 minutes).
One policy-ready output (a brief, dashboard view, or export).
One local proof point (seeded neighborhoods / agencies / partner types relevant to Minneapolis).

How it can earn revenue without becoming extractive

Revenue fit (values-aligned): sell a low-cost subscription to local governments/nonprofits, or charge implementation/support for pilots—avoid extractive fees on community participation.

Guardrails: publish scoring criteria, minimize data collection, and default to community ownership where possible (co-op/commons patterns).