Code for America: Peer-to-Peer Outreach and Network Re-Visioning
Client: Code for America
Duration: 3 Months
Year: 2025
The Challenge
Code for America’s decentralized Brigades network lacked a consistent way to include underrepresented voices in long-term planning. Volunteers from smaller or less-resourced brigades felt excluded from conversations about the network’s future. Without a human-centered feedback process, CFA risked decisions misaligned with grassroots needs and priorities.
Our Solution
Led a Peer-to-Peer Outreach process to collect insights through empathy-driven conversations with brigade members nationwide. We engaged over 40 individuals through interviews and meetups to capture lived experiences and translate them into actionable strategies—building a foundation for inclusive network revisioning and long-term engagement.
Project Scope
- Design and facilitation of Peer-to-Peer outreach process
- Development of interview scripts and empathy-mapping frameworks
- 40+ in-depth interviews across Zoom and live meetups
- Real-time analysis and feedback loop development
- Recommendations for sustainable governance models
Implementation Summary
The Peer-to-Peer process began with intentional outreach, focusing on brigades historically absent from strategic conversations. Using empathy mapping, our facilitators created space for honest discussion on leadership, DEI, volunteer roles, sustainability, and organizational communication.
Interactive tools like breakout rooms and shared documents allowed flexibility in participation, while structured scripts ensured consistency across interviews. Emerging insights were affinity-mapped and used to iterate the process for scale. Each session informed a growing repository of qualitative data that revealed systemic gaps in governance, inclusion, and communication.
The process culminated in a Peer-to-Peer Facilitator Toolkit and a set of high-impact recommendations that reflect the needs of local brigades—prioritizing clarity, equity, and connectivity across the network.
Key Accomplishments
Engaged 40+ brigade members across diverse geographies and identities
Uncovered systemic gaps in governance, role clarity, and DEI practices
Created a replicable peer-outreach model grounded in empathy
Helped input to develop a facilitator toolkit for future brigade engagement
Proposed strategic initiatives around CRM tracking, regional pods, and communication channels
Elevated underrepresented voices in the future vision for the CfA Brigades network
Before Versus After Snapshot
| Element | Before Outreach | After Outreach |
|---|---|---|
|
Network Inclusion |
Inconsistent, with some voices underrepresented |
Human-centered engagement of 40+ brigade voices |
|
Communication Structure |
Fragmented, informal |
Recommendations for Slack workspaces, newsletters |
|
Governance |
Unclear role definitions |
Proposed clarified roles and advisory frameworks |
|
Volunteer Engagement |
Unstructured onboarding and role ambiguity |
Toolkit for sustainable recruitment and retention |
|
Research Approach |
Top-down surveys |
Empathy-driven, iterative qualitative research |
Key Takeaways For Future Projects
- Listening deeply unlocks authentic, actionable feedback
- Empathy-driven engagement fosters trust and clarity
- Peer-to-peer methods scale inclusion across dispersed networks
- Clear communication channels are essential for cohesion
- Toolkit development sustains future engagement efforts
- Role clarity and governance support local brigade success
Conclusion
The Peer-to-Peer Outreach process helped Code for America center the voices of its brigade members—particularly those on the margins. By prioritizing inclusion, empathy, and actionable design, laid the groundwork for creating a more equitable, connected, and effective volunteer network