The Civic Tech Field Guide is the largest curated collection of civic tech projects, tools, and organisations in the world. And now, it's queryable directly through a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and API. Rather than starting from a blank page, fellows can ground their ideas in what already exists, who's working on a given problem, what's been tried, what's succeeded or stalled, and where the genuine gaps are.
This topic is entirely practical. I can walk you through connecting to the Field Guide, searching and filtering the dataset, and using it to pressure-test and situate a new civic tech idea. Ultimately, we want to help you become better equipped to use the Field Guide as a live research tool throughout your project. It will help you avoid reinvention, find collaborators, and situate your work within the wider civic tech landscape.