Civic Software Foundation

What Civic Software Foundation does

Civic Software Foundation (operating as "CIVIC") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013 (EIN 46-5498921), headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with business hubs in Washington DC, Montreal, London, and Berlin. Its stated mission is to develop practices and technology grounded in ethical data use and societal impact, organized around a proprietary framework the organization calls "Context-Aware Systems."

The organization's offerings are structured as a portfolio of six core programs supported by educational sub-products. The CIVIC Collaboration Studio is the public-facing production center that accepts partnership requests from institutions and organizations. The Contextual Metadata Lab is the applied research group that develops Context-Aware Systems frameworks, maintains a scholar network, and publishes through academic and public-sector partnerships. CivTech Alliance is a global network of nations addressing climate innovation procurement. Democracy Reform Tech serves U.S. cities, states, and counties with fair elections software. The Intersectional Futures Network is a community of practice for technology narratives, and the Data Materialism Department produces artistic collaborations exploring data lifecycles. Supporting sub-products include educational Modules and paid Workshops.

CIVIC's revenue model is consistent with its nonprofit structure: grants, donations, and partnership fees for consulting and workshop services delivered through the Collaboration Studio and Contextual Metadata Lab. Its go-to-market is community-led and partnership-driven rather than sales-led; the organization solicits inbound requests from institutions and operates through scholar networks, academic partnerships, and public-sector agencies. Catherine Nikolovski is the Executive Director. The organization has 11–50 employees, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed funding rounds, and no acquisitions, patents, or certifications on record.

Name

Civic Software Foundation

Legal name

Civic Software Foundation

Website

https://civicsoftwarefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Civic Software Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops Context-Aware Systems frameworks and partners with institutions, governments, and researchers on ethical data and civic technology across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Technology Software

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK)

Keywords

• Civic technology software
• Context-aware systems
• Ethical data frameworks
• Nonprofit civic tech
• Applied research

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Nonprofit Funding and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013, Civic Software Foundation operates primarily through grants, donations, and partnership fees for consulting and workshop services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Civic Software Foundation develops Context-Aware Systems frameworks and connected technologies through its Contextual Metadata Lab, partnering with institutions, public sector agencies, and academic researchers on ethical data use and societal impact projects. It delivers its work via a portfolio of programs including the Collaboration Studio (applied production partnerships), expert-led Workshops, educational Modules, the CivTech Alliance (climate innovation policy network), Democracy Reform Tech (fair elections software for US government agencies), and the Intersectional Futures Network (community of practice).

Product overview

Civic Software Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013 with a mission of creating practices and supporting technology built on principles of ethical data use and societal impact. The organization operates a multi-product portfolio centered around Context-Aware Systems, organized as a spectrum of program areas spanning institutional production, applied research, education, and conceptual art. The core offerings include the Collaboration Studio (public-facing production center for social impact partnerships), the Contextual Metadata Lab (applied research group developing frameworks and workshops), CivTech Alliance (global network for climate innovation policy), Democracy Reform Tech (fair elections software for US government agencies), Intersectional Futures Network (community of practice for technology narratives), and the Data Materialism Department (creative initiative exploring data lifecycles through artistic collaboration). Supporting offerings include educational Modules and Workshops. CIVIC operates from business hubs in Washington DC, Portland OR, Montreal QC, London UK, and Berlin DE.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CIVIC Collaboration Studio Public-facing production center accepting partnership requests from institutions and organizations seeking social impact with technology. Supports partners from brainstorming through scoping, piloting, implementation, and scaling of context-aware systems and best practices.
• Contextual Metadata Lab Applied research group that leads development of Context-Aware Systems frameworks and connected technologies, maintaining a diverse scholar network and partnering with academic institutions and public sector agencies. Offers expert-led workshops and custom experiences for nonmember organizations.
• CivTech Alliance Global network of nations that supports bringing new innovations to climate innovation and policy. Helps values-based companies connect with global markets and prepare to work with government clients at scale, addressing the question of how to procure innovations that don't yet exist.
• Democracy Reform Tech Service for US-based government agencies (cities, states, counties) that adapts reliable and sustainable fair elections software solutions to support democracy-related policy reforms aimed at leveling the campaign playing field and improving equitable constituent representation.
• Intersectional Futures Network Community of practice for meaningful connection and experimental collaboration focused on re-centering narratives and assumptions about the values and limitations embedded in technology. Provides private workspaces, emergent content, invite-only talks, and early access to CIVIC material.
• Data Materialism Department Creative initiative investigating the lifecycle of data as it manifests from abstract concept, to digital object, to force of influence in the real world. Collaborates with researchers and artists to create immersive experiences that communicate data concepts beyond what white papers and tech platforms can convey.
• Educational Modules Educational modules for discovering and learning about context-aware systems and ethical data practices, available through CIVIC's public programming.
• Expert-Led Workshops Expert-led workshops and custom experiences offered by the Contextual Metadata Lab for nonmember organizations seeking to learn about context-aware systems and ethical data practices.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Academic InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIVIC maintains partnerships with academic institutions to test and publish new work through its Contextual Metadata Lab applied research group.
• Public Sector AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Contextual Metadata Lab partners with public sector agencies to test and publish research on context-aware systems frameworks.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• The GovLab: Research center at NYU focused on how technology can improve governance and strengthen democratic institutions. Comparable applied-research orientation and academic/public-sector partnerships to CIVIC's Contextual Metadata Lab.
• VotingWorks: Nonprofit building open-source, secure election voting and auditing software for US jurisdictions. Direct overlap with CIVIC's Democracy Reform Tech fair-elections software offering, focused on a narrower product set.

Others

• Knight Foundation: Major US philanthropic foundation funding journalism, civic engagement, and arts. A likely funder and ecosystem peer for CIVIC's democracy and intersectional futures work, with overlapping grantees.
• New America: Think tank with programs on democracy, technology policy, and civic engagement. Thematically aligned on intersectional futures and civic technology narrative work, though structured as a policy think tank rather than a software nonprofit.

Broad incumbents

• 18F (GSA): Federal civic-tech consultancy inside GSA that builds and procures digital services for government. Comparable on government tech procurement and 'procuring innovation' themes central to CivTech Alliance.
• U.S. Digital Service (USDS): Federal government civic-tech organization delivering technology for public services. Operates at much larger scale with federal mandate, overlapping CIVIC's public-sector software and procurement modernization work.
• Mozilla Foundation: Global nonprofit advancing trustworthy AI, data justice, and internet health. Comparable mission around ethical technology and societal impact, though broader scope and significantly larger funding base.

Direct peers

• Sunlight Foundation: Nonprofit advocating for government transparency and civic tech to improve political accountability. Comparable mission around ethical data use and democratic reform, though focused more on transparency/oversight than software deployment.
• Code for America: 501(c)(3) nonprofit building digital tools and services for US government agencies, with a strong focus on civic tech for safety net programs. Direct peer in nonprofit civic software for government, though Code for America is much larger and more productized.
• Center for Tech and Civic Life: Nonprofit providing election administration support and technology to US local election offices. Closely comparable to CIVIC's Democracy Reform Tech program in mission and US public-sector elections focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/civicsoftware
• GitHubgithub.com/hackoregon
• Instagraminstagram.com/alldataarecreated

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Civic Software Foundation