Dhrumil Mehta
Database Journalist, Politics @ FiveThirtyEight
Shopping Days
Programming and Data for Policymakers
(a.k.a #code4policy)
Programming and Data for Policymakers
(a.k.a #code4policy)
Instructors: Dhrumil Mehta
@datadhrumil
@dmil
- Visiting Professor of Public Policy @ Harvard U.
- Associate Professor of Journalism @ Columbia U.
- Deputy Director of Tow Center for Digital Journalism
Formerly:
- Database Journalist, Politics @ FiveThirtyEight
- Software Development Engineer @ Amazon
Programming and Data for Policymakers
(a.k.a #code4policy)
Instructors: Aarushi Sahejpal
asahejpal@hks.harvard.edu
@aarushisahejpal
I co-teach this class with Dhrumil + am a data journalism professor at American University in Washington, D.C.
- Data Editor, The Investigative Reporting Workshop
- Consultant, The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Formerly
The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, The Center for Public Integrity, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting
A quick look at a summary of responses to the poll
Logistics
Two sections
- Section A: 10am-2pm ET
- Section B: 4pm-8pm ET
Types of Assignments
- Classwork
- Homework
- coding
- reading / slack discussion
- Project
Things you will need
A laptop computer
These two books (e-books available on amazon)
A can-do attitude!
What this class is
This course is built with the understanding that hands-on experience with programming, data, software development and management methods, open source collaboration, and technology innovation will better prepare students to competently navigate technology projects and nuanced issues at the intersection of technology and governance than a theoretical understanding alone.
- Hands-on coding workshops
- Project
- Reading
- Discussion + Q&A with expert guest speakers
What this class is not
- It is not a general programming curriculum
- It is not an intro to computer science course
- It is not a specific programming language course
Haven't coded before?
No prior programming experience is necessary, but the course will be rooted in programming exercises and students must be prepared for hands-on learning. Students who have no experience with topics covered may consider staying after class or coming in on the weekend for individual instruction or help with debugging code.
Want to get a head start?
Try the Python3 or JavaScript course at:
Why you should take this course:
You don't plan to work at the intersection of tech and govt
- You might be a part of technology-related policy making
- Policy implementation is increasingly technology-dependent
You do plan to work at the intersection of tech and govt
- Speaking to and working effectively with technologists
- Managing technology projects
- Learning how to learn how to code
- Learning some hard-skills along the way (coding/data viz)
Example Projects
Let's Roll!
Interruptions welcome!
If at any point you feel stuck, please either speak up or use the "NO" icon in the "Participants" panel.
If I start seeing lots of "No", I will stop and recap...
For questions, feel free to interrupt or use the hand-raised icon
Download this code
- Login to GitHub
- Navigate to https://github.com/code4policy/shopping
- Click on the "Open in GitHub Codespaces" button
In class, you'll work on your own computer.
...
Today, we'll stay in the web to avoid configuration drama.
Pair Programming: Designate a "driver" and a navigator. The driver shares their screen.
Look at the code and see if you can make sense of how it works.
What are the four files?
How does each type of file work?
How do they work together?
Modify the code
(Be bold and break things! -- You're just exploring right now)
Step 1: Make a small change to one of the files
Step 2: Save that change
Step 3: Refresh the browser to view the change
Step 4: Repeat
Navigate back to:
https://github.com/code4policy/shopping-days
- Navigate to any file and hit the edit button
Propose a change
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and propose that change
- Make ONE small modification to any one file (it can be a change in text, background color, image, anything.
That was your first open source contribution!
(unless you've done this before)
Why is this important?
Pick a government agency and go check out their GitHub!
- Transparency
- Security
- Shared infrastructure
- Lots of other reasons that we will discuss in class
- Technology decision with policy implications
Q&A
dhrumil_mehta@hks.harvard.edu
1. Go to your fork of the class site: github.com/your-username/simple-website
2. Turn on the web server
Bonus: Your own website
HKS Shopping Days
By Dhrumil Mehta
