Startup Weekend • 54-hour MVP blueprint

CivicComment PDX

Portland

Policy + Climate + Civic Tech

Better public comments, fewer procedural barriers.

A meeting-aware assistant that turns agendas into plain-language decision points and helps residents submit relevant, specific testimony on time.

Local fit: Strong civic engagement, sustainability culture, and active transportation; good fit for reuse/repair and community-driven planning tools.

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Core user stories

As a resident, I paste a meeting agenda link and get key decisions summarized in plain language.
As a resident, I generate a structured comment with references to agenda items and deadlines.
As an organizer, I share a one-page ‘what matters’ brief with my community.

Clickable demo scope (what you build)

Agenda → key decision points page (seeded sample agenda text).
Comment builder with sections (impact, request, evidence) + export/email copy.
Deadline tracker showing ‘submit by’ and meeting time (mock).

Team of four roles

Product & Policy Lead: Define what ‘good comment’ means; create the structure (impact → request → evidence) and deadline logic.
UX / Frontend: Build agenda summary view + comment builder + share page.
Backend / Data: Seed sample agendas/minutes; implement basic extraction/diff; create export/copy features.
Partnerships / Story / Ops: Test with 3 residents/organizers; refine language for non-experts; 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 Portland).

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).