FAQ - Civic Coding – Innovationsnetz KI für das Gemeinwohl

“Civic Coding – Innovation Network AI for the Common Good” is a joint initiative of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).

In our innovation network, we cross ministerial boundaries and responsibilities and join forces to promote the emergence of social and societal innovations from the middle of society. We want to enable people to use AI technologies for the common good on a broad scale.

All Civic Coding activities aim to promote the use of AI applications for the common good and social innovation. In an open network, the three ministries join forces to strengthen their competences in civil society. The cooperation of the ministries enables broad and cross-departmental support measures.

The initiative is open to anyone who wants to use AI applications for social progress. Developers and start-ups can get involved just as well as initiatives, public institutions and private individuals. Do you have an idea for an AI technology that can add value to society and would like to develop and implement it? Would you like to learn more about AI solutions for the common good? Join our community now!

These are the criteria for AI-relatedness based on the AI definition of the German government's AI strategy (2018) (in German)

• Deduction systems, machine proof: Derivation (deduction) of formal statements from logical expressions, systems for proving the correctness of hardware and software;
• Knowledge-based systems: methods for modelling and collecting knowledge; software for simulating human expert knowledge and supporting experts (formerly: ‘expert systems’); partly also linked to psychology and cognitive sciences
• Pattern analysis and pattern recognition: general inductive analysis methods, especially machine learning
• Robotics: autonomous control of robotic systems, i.e. autonomous systems;
• Intelligent multimodal human-machine interaction: analysing and ‘understanding’ language (in conjunction with linguistics), images, gestures and other forms of human interaction.

Chatbots, voice assistants or smart home are examples of AI technologies that are being used more widely in society. They are becoming increasingly prominent in our everyday lives. Most of the time, the development of AI-based technologies is driven by economic interests. AI for the common good, on the other hand, is oriented towards values that are important for the general public. It enables intelligent solutions for societal challenges. The Civic Coding initiative strengthens sustainable, social and participatory models for the use and development of AI applications.

There are issues relevant to the common good in almost every area of social life, be it the world of work or social issues like equality, transparency and participation. In addition, the focus on the common good ranges from environmental protection and sustainability to equal rights for marginalised groups and the reduction of prejudice.

Topics BMAS (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs)

• Occupational health and safety
• Work culture
• Labour market
• Work organisation
• Transparency and explainability of AI applications
• Social partnership and participation
• Continuing education

Topics BMUV (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection)

• Environmental protectio
• Nature and species conservation
• Natural climate protection
• Climate change adaptation
• Circular economy
• Resource conservation
• Consumer protection

Topics BMFSFJ (Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth)

• Democracy and diversity, prevention of antisemitism, racism, discrimination and extremism
• Engagement and digital participation
• Digital sovereignty and youth and media protection
• Access to consulting, services and benefits
• Dementia and care in old age, demographic change
• (Economic) equality
• Compatibility of family and career

Civic Coding is based on the exchange and the projects of the community. If you want to be a part of it, you can register for free and get in touch with other interested people. 

Our events are also a great way to network, learn and get involved. Here you can find information about current and upcoming events.

There are various funding opportunities in the context of Civic Coding, based on the respective funding guidelines of the participating ministries. In addition, there are some more low-key support offers such as the ECO AI LAB,or the idea contest of the Civic Innovation Plattform. You can find more information on funding opportunities on the Funding page.

If you have any questions or remarks, please contact our team via info[at]civic-coding.de 

Our community area provides a virtual space for members and projects: As a registered user, you can post and publish your projects for AI applications for the common good. Here you can search for like-minded people. Our matching feature will help you network and develop your projects.

For data protection reasons, you will find extended information about existing project ideas and content, profiles of other registered users and various networking opportunities in the members-only area of the platform.

Show your profile

When you register, you create a profile that is visible to others. In your profile, you can state your interests and skills, introduce yourself and/or your organisation/institution, and enter your contact details for a potential exchange on AI applications for the common good. This makes it easier to get in touch with other users and to network systematically. In addition, you can indicate which skills you require to (further) develop your project and/or what you can offer others to develop their projects. The matching feature of the web portal also helps you in your search for like-minded people.

The information in your profile can be updated to or deleted at any time. Your privacy is very important to us. You can find detailed information about this in the privacy policy.

For data protection reasons, the member profiles are only available to registered users in the members-only area.

Present your ideas and network

You can use the online form to create, present and edit your projects. In addition, you can contact potential project partners. This way you can exchange on projects that have already been submitted or new projects which need partners. We support you with the matching feature of the platform.

The projects are available to you in both the public and the members-only areas. In the password-protected community area, you can access more detailed descriptions of the projects, get in touch with other project contributors and network.

    
All offers can be used free of charge.

Registering offers many advantages: As a registered user, you will find more information on projects and various networking opportunities in the community area. Since these are largely personalised features, they need to be linked to an individual account. Therefore, registration is required to access the community area. Only absolutely necessary data is collected. This information will not be shared with third parties. You can find detailed information in the data privacy policy.

Whether you are an individual, a start-up, a research institution or a public institution – anyone interested in developing and implementing AI projects for the common good can register. The more diverse the users, the better the results.

All you need to register is a valid email address. Only absolutely necessary data will be collected. This data will not be shared with third parties. Detailed information can be found in the data privacy policy.

You will find the Login icon at the top right of the menu bar. Click on the button to open a window with a field in which you can enter your login details (email address and password). If you do not have a login yet, simply click on "Register" and follow the registration process.

If you click on "Forgot your password?" in the login window, you can easily and securely create a new password. Enter your email address in the corresponding field. You will then receive an email with a link to create a new password. If you still experience problems logging in, please contact us at info[at]civic-coding.de

To chat with another community member, you must first connect with them. Among the member profiles, you can search by name or specific skills and interests, and send other members a networking request. Under the "Network" menu, you can see all the members you are already connected to.

You can access the chat through the speech bubble in the top right-hand corner of the community area menu. Here, you can select people from your network to chat with.

Your first message will be a chat request, which the other person can accept or decline. No further messages can be sent until the other person has accepted or declined. We want to ensure that the discussions are desired by both sides.

When using the chat, please always follow our netiquette  and terms of use.