About

Tracking Change is an advocacy platform to turn data into action.

Through collaboration and crowdsourcing, advocates can more effectively influence public policy and ensure issues of importance to African Americans are addressed. The issues include gentrification, displacement, police misconduct, voting rights and cultural heritage preservation.

By harnessing the power of technology and social media, activists can solve problems, bring about social change and hold elected officials accountable.

Tracking Change promotes data-driven models of  transparency and accountability.

All That Philly Jazz

All That Philly Jazz is a place-based public history project at the intersection of art, public policy and preservation.. We are telling the story of Philadelphia’s golden age of jazz from bebop to hip-hop. We are documenting and mapping jazz spots and landmarks, Walk of Fame plaques and jazz-related cultural assets.

Much of Philadelphia’s jazz history has been erased. Landmarks and jazz venues fell victim to the 1964 race riots, urban renewal and gentrification. As a result, the history largely resides in the memories of those who were there. So to preserve the history, All That Philly Jazz  is crowdsourced. Community members are invited to share their stories, photos, etc., about Philadelphia’s jazz heritage. All That Philly Jazz is not just about the past. We are building new audiences for jazz.

All That Philly Jazz stems from Music Hack Day, a music-related hackathon.

#PHLWatchdog is a citizen-led initiative to monitor and report on how the City of Philadelphia spends taxpayers’ money. We are watching and promoting transparency and accountability in government. Send tips to phlwatchdog[@]gmail.com.

PAST PROJECTS

Yo! Philly Votes

Launched in 2012, Yo! Philly Votes aggregated and visualized Election Day incident reports to help ensure that problems encountered at the polls were addressed in real time. The web-based app was included in Philadelphia Weekly’s 2012 Voters Guide and named “Map of the Week” by the Philadelphia Public Interest Information Network.

On Election Day 2012, Yo! Philly Votes received reports via Twitter, text message and email, and had 1780 page views.

Yo! Philly Votes stems from Random Hacks of Kindness at Drexel University. The citizen-led initiative promotes data-driven models of accountability and transparency in election administration.

Cost of Freedom Voter ID App

The Cost of Freedom Voter ID App helped voters navigate their state’s voter ID application process. The web-based app provided photo ID requirements for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The voter ID app was developed in partnership with the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Black Youth Vote.

Tracking Change Wiki
Activists, advocacy groups, influencers and thought leaders curated news and information about a wide range of issues, including stimulus-funded projects, job creation, business formation, access to capital, STEM, broadband deployment and adoption, and voting rights.

For more information about Tracking Change, contact us.