--- sidebar_position: 1 displayed_sidebar: gettingStartedSidebar --- # Introduction ## CommunityOne: One Map for Every Community > Every person deserves to find the help they need and have a voice in the decisions that shape their lives. But public resources are scattered, gaps go unseen, and communities are left navigating alone. > > CommunityOne changes that. One platform connects residents, leaders, and funders to what's really happening on the ground β€” so no community has to fight just to be seen. **Open Navigator** is the open-source engine powering CommunityOne β€” an AI platform that analyzes municipal meeting minutes, budgets, and nonprofit data to surface opportunities for advocacy and community impact. :::note[πŸ‘©β€πŸ’» Developers β€” start here] Want to run the platform locally? Head straight to the **[Developer Quick Start Guide](/docs/quickstart)**. It walks you through cloning the repo, installing the three services (app, docs, API), configuring `.env`, and restoring a warehouse snapshot so the app shows real data. ::: :::tip[All Data is Cited & Properly Attributed] Every dataset, standard, and research source used in this platform is properly cited with complete attribution, licenses, and BibTeX references. **[View Complete Citations & Data Sources](/docs/data-sources/citations)** - Academic research (MeetingBank, LocalView, Council Data Project, City Scrapers), Government data (U.S. Census, NCES, IRS), Civic tech standards (OCD-ID, Popolo, Schema.org, CEDS, OMOP CDM), Nonprofit data (ProPublica, Every.org, Findhelp), Church & congregation data (ARDA, HIFLD, National Congregations Study), Enterprise tech partnerships (Microsoft, Google, AWS, Databricks, Snowflake, Salesforce), and more. **Data Model Alignment:** Our event and meeting data model is compatible with [Council Data Project (CDP)](https://councildataproject.org/) backend schema, enabling interoperability with CDP instances nationwide. ::: ## πŸ‘‹ Choose Your Path This documentation is organized by audience. Click the section that best describes you:

πŸ“Š Policy Makers & Advocates

I want to:

β†’ Go to Advocacy Documentation

πŸ› οΈ Developers & Technical Users

I want to:

β†’ Start with the Developer Quick Start

Or browse all developer documentation β†’

--- ## Platform Scale Open Navigator provides nationwide civic data, with deep AI meeting analysis concentrated across 7 states:
82,921
Government Jurisdictions
3.6M
Nonprofit Organizations
2,297
Meeting Minutes Analyzed
34,322
Elected Officials
10,893
School Districts
52
States & Territories Covered
All data is **100% free and public** - no subscriptions or API fees required. --- ## 🎯 Top 5 Use Cases These are the most powerful ways to use Open Navigator: ### πŸ“Š 1. Hold Governments Accountable **The Problem:** Cities and school boards claim priorities in meetings but don't fund them. **The Solution:** Compare meeting transcripts with budget line items to expose gaps between rhetoric and reality.
Meeting: "Mental health is our top priority" (mentioned 47 times)
Budget: Mental health funding: +2% (below inflation)
⚠️ Gap Detected: Performative Talk

Data Used: MEETING, BUDGET, JURISDICTION, TOPIC

### πŸ—ΊοΈ 2. Find Policy Windows for Advocacy **The Problem:** Advocates miss critical moments when governments are receptive to change. **The Solution:** Track meeting sentiment, budget cycles, and legislation timing to identify when to act.
🟒 Urgent Opportunity: Tuscaloosa City Council
βœ… Action: Submit testimony by April 10

Data Used: OPPORTUNITY, SENTIMENT, DATE_DIMENSION, METRIC_VIEW

### πŸ›οΈ 3. Track Nonprofit Effectiveness **The Problem:** Donors can't verify if nonprofits deliver on their mission. **The Solution:** Combine Form 990 financial data with service delivery data and meeting citations.
Health Nonprofit A:
⚠️ Red Flag: High overhead, low community presence

Data Used: NONPROFIT, DONATION, CONSTITUENT, PROGRAM_DELIVERY

### πŸ—£οΈ 4. Analyze Public Sentiment & Debate **The Problem:** It's hard to know how communities really feel about policies. **The Solution:** Extract sentiment from meeting transcripts, public comments, and video debates.
Topic: School mask policy
πŸ“ˆ Insight: Board voted against majority sentiment

Data Used: MEETING, VIDEO, OFFICIAL, SENTIMENT, VOTE_EVENT

### πŸŽ“ 5. Compare Education Spending Across Districts **The Problem:** Parents don't know if their school district spends money efficiently. **The Solution:** Benchmark per-pupil spending, administrative costs, and outcomes across similar districts.
District Per-Pupil Admin %
Your District $18,500 24%
Similar District A $14,200 12%
Similar District B $13,800 11%
πŸ“Š Question: Why are admin costs double the average?

Data Used: JURISDICTION, BUDGET, DEMOGRAPHICS, METRIC_VIEW

:::info[Explore the Complete Data Model] These use cases are powered by a comprehensive data model with 40+ entities including jurisdictions, meetings, budgets, nonprofits, officials, videos, and more. **[View Complete Data Model ERD](/docs/data-sources/data-model-erd)** - Interactive diagram with all entity relationships ::: --- ## πŸ“Š What Data We Integrate Open Navigator combines multiple free, public data sources: - **πŸ“„ Meeting Minutes**: 1,000+ municipalities with full transcripts and videos - **πŸ“Ί Video Channels**: 50+ state legislature YouTube channels - **πŸ’° Financial Data**: Complete budget and Form 990 coverage - **πŸ—ΊοΈ Geographic Coverage**: All 50 states, 3,000+ counties and cities - **πŸ›οΈ Nonprofits**: 3M+ organizations with Form 990 financial data - **πŸ—³οΈ Elections**: Ballots, candidates, results, polling data - **βœ… Fact-Checking**: Claims verification from trusted sources See [Data Sources Overview](/docs/data-sources/overview) for complete details. --- ## Quick Start Follow the **[Developer Quick Start Guide](/docs/quickstart)** for step-by-step installation and setup instructions β€” clone, install the three services, configure `.env`, and restore a warehouse snapshot. For production deployment options, see: - [Databricks Apps Deployment](/docs/deployment/databricks-apps) - [Docker Deployment](/docs/deployment/docker) - [HuggingFace Spaces Deployment](/docs/deployment/huggingface-spaces) --- ## Next Steps

For Policy Makers

Learn how to find advocacy opportunities and track government accountability.

Go to Advocacy Guide β†’

πŸ› οΈ For Developers

Install the platform, configure scrapers, and deploy to production.

Go to Quick Start β†’

Data Model

Explore the complete ERD with 40+ entities and data relationships.

View ERD β†’

Citations

View complete citations, licenses, and data source attribution.

View Citations β†’