Knowledge As Power

KAP aims to accomplish its mission by providing online technology, offline civics education, engagement and advising in order to help citizens and government work better, together.

What started as a free, online service to make legislative information accessible online has grown in the past few years to encompass a range of services and programming, each working to resolve underlying challenges to citizen engagement and government accessibility.

Launched in 2008, KAPcitizen, is the first free online service in the US to integrate video, bill tracking, and communications tools for individuals. KAPcitizen pioneered tools to make citizen’s personalized communications more valuable–and manageable–for legislators. Now in its third year, KAPcitizen is expanding to cover Seattle City Council and several other states around America.

KAPevents build the open government community’s strength through conferences, summits, code-a-thons which develop relationships and technology improvements for governments and civic groups. By providing low-cost, highly engaging educational events, KAP is helping governments and civic groups modernize, open up, and collaborate.

Out of concern that few Americans learned how to become civically engaged, Knowledge As Power launched KAPcivics. With only 22 states in America testing for civics education, and even fewer teaching teens how to effectively engage in the legislative process, Knowledge As Power created a free civics curriculum called “Act & Impact,” teaching teens and adults how to be informed and effective within the lawmaking process.

In late 2010, Knowledge As Power launched KAPcommunity, a pilot program funded by the City of Seattle, to teach community groups and organizations how to use online tools and offline tactics to effectively engage in the lawmaking process. These “civic skills” classes are matched with outreach events and marketing of KAP’s online tools. KAPcommunity’s goal is to increase the number, and diversity, of voices advocating to government, while providing these new voices the best tools and strategies for civic engagement.