Digital Development Ministry Launches 115th Civic Tech Sandbox, Calling on Creative Talent to Join 'Tech for Disaster Resilience'

To promote civic participation in public affairs and deepen public-private collaborative innovation in governance, the Digital Development Ministry is once again hosting the 'Civic Tech Sandbox' this year (115). Focused on 'Tech for Disaster Resilience,' it calls on local governments, civic tech communities, and cross-domain partners to work together to respond to public demands using digital technologies. Teams that are selected and complete their projects will each receive rewards worth NT$300,000 in gift vouchers. Individuals and teams are welcome to join.

The Ministry stated that since 112, it has been promoting the 'Civic Tech Sandbox,' transforming frontline public service needs into testable and verifiable digital solutions. This year’s event centers on the core spirit of 'Civic Action Hub – Civic Tech Collaboration Space,' with the theme 'Light up Public Innovation Through Action.' Four practical local issues proposed by New Taipei City Government, Keelung City Government, Miaoli County Government, and Nantou County Government have been selected. Through prototype development and field validation, the program explores feasible ways to use digital technology to meet public needs.

The Ministry noted that this year’s four selected issues stem directly from real-world frontline demands of county and city governments. Specifically, New Taipei City Government aims to assist vulnerable institutions in disaster reporting by testing prototype tools to help these institutions proactively report safety statuses and consolidate information. Keelung City Government is advancing the digitization of disaster responder training, verifying the feasibility of online processes for registration, review, notifications, and certificate tracking. Miaoli County Government is focusing on volunteer and material management, planning functions such as personnel registration, task dispatch, and short-expiry material management. Nantou County Government has raised the need for disaster reporting and visualization, hoping to establish a model where village chiefs, disaster responders, volunteers, and community organizations jointly report disasters and monitor handling progress.

The Ministry explained that this sandbox adopts a collaborative model pairing 'Digital Transformation Advisory Consultants' with 'Creative Newcomers.' Each team will be assigned one digital transformation consultant by the executing team, paired with at least one creative newcomer. 'Creative newcomers' are open to all ages, identities, and nationalities—university students, civic communities, and enthusiastic citizens are all encouraged to participate.

Four development teams will be selected, each receiving NT$300,000 worth of gift vouchers as rewards. All team outcomes will follow the 'Standard for Public Code' guidelines and be published on the Ministry’s GitHub platform, allowing public access, contributions, and feedback. This accumulates sustainable, extendable public digital assets.

Applications are open from now until noon on August 19, 115, via online submission. Both individuals and teams may apply. Submitted materials will undergo eligibility screening, and qualified applicants will be announced as preliminary selections on August 20. On August 25, finalists will attend the team final selection and municipal cooperation ceremony for presentations and exchanges. Four main teams and four alternate teams will be selected on that day to begin subsequent field validation collaborations.

The Ministry welcomes applications from professionals and citizens with experience in digital services, civic tech, or related practices, aiming to bring innovative ideas closer to local needs through cross-domain collaboration. For detailed event and application information, please visit the official website: https://cttaiwan.moda.gov.tw/.