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For Policy Makers & Advocates

Welcome! This section is designed for policy makers, advocates, researchers, and community organizers who want to use Open Navigator to drive change.

Data at Your Fingertips​

Open Navigator gives you access to comprehensive accountability data across the entire United States:

925
Government jurisdictions tracked
Counties, cities, townships, school districts
43,726
Nonprofit organizations
Complete IRS Form 990 data from 5 states
6,913
Meeting minutes analyzed
AI-extracted decisions and budget items
362
Elected officials
Voting records and decision patterns

Coverage Breakdown​

  • 🏛️ Jurisdictions: 925 tracked across 5 states
  • 🏙️ School Districts: 306 districts with financial data
  • 🏫 Churches: 4,372 congregations mapped
  • 🗺️ States: 5 states with complete IRS BMF data

All data is free and public - sourced from official government registries and IRS filings.

Complete Data Source Citations

All data sources are properly cited with licenses, BibTeX references, and attribution.

Citations & Data Sources

Includes:

  • Academic Research: MeetingBank, LocalView (Harvard), Council Data Project, City Scrapers
  • Government Data: U.S. Census Bureau, NCES, IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Search
  • Civic Tech Standards: OCD-ID, Popolo, Schema.org, CEDS
  • Fact-Checking: N/A (not currently integrated)
  • Nonprofit Data: IRS BMF (43,726 orgs from 5 states)
  • Churches & Congregations: 4,372 congregations from IRS data
  • Enterprise Partnerships: Microsoft, Google, AWS, Databricks for data infrastructure

What You'll Find Here​

📊 Understanding the Data​

Learn about the data sources powering Open Navigator:

🎯 Analysis & Strategy​

Powerful frameworks for accountability and advocacy:

Real-World Examples​

See how it works in practice:

Common Use Cases​

1. Government Accountability​

Challenge: Elected officials say one thing, fund another.

Solution: Compare meeting rhetoric with budget allocations to expose gaps.

City Council: "School dental programs are our top priority"
Budget Reality: Dental funding decreased 20%

→ Advocacy Angle: "City cut screenings 20% despite calling it a priority"

2. Nonprofit Verification​

Challenge: Verify that nonprofits allocate resources according to their mission.

Solution: Compare board meeting minutes with Form 990 spending patterns.

Board Minutes: "Expanding access to underserved communities"
Form 990: Only 12% of budget on direct services

→ Donor Alert: "Organization claims to serve underserved but allocates <15% to programs"

3. Finding Existing Solutions​

Challenge: Officials claim "we can't do X - it's too risky/expensive/complex."

Solution: Find nonprofits or nearby jurisdictions already doing it successfully.

Official: "We can't do dental screenings - legal liability"
Reality: 3 local nonprofits already providing screenings

→ Response: "Here are 3 organizations doing it safely. Can we support their expansion?"

4. Opportunity Cost Analysis​

Challenge: Show what wasn't funded when money went elsewhere.

Solution: Highlight spending on non-essentials vs. cuts to critical services.

City spent $200K on new city hall landscaping
While cutting $150K from children's dental programs
→ Impact: 800 kids now without dental screenings

Getting Started​

Step 1: Explore the Data​

Visit http://localhost:5173 (Open Navigator application) to:

  • Search meetings by location, topic, and date
  • View the heatmap of advocacy opportunities
  • Look up nonprofit organizations in your area
  • Filter by urgency and policy topic

Step 2: Understand the Analysis​

Read the Budget-to-Minutes Analysis guide to understand how the platform correlates rhetoric with spending.

Step 3: See It In Action​

Review the Tuscaloosa case study to see a complete analysis of one city.

Step 4: Apply to Your Area​

Use the search and filter tools in Open Navigator to find:

  • Upcoming votes and hearings
  • Budget discussions
  • Gaps between priorities and funding
  • Local nonprofits providing services

Key Concepts​

Budget-to-Minutes Analysis​

The platform compares what organizations say in meetings with what they fund in budgets:

Meeting RhetoricBudget RealityAnalysis
"Critical priority"+5% increase✅ Aligned
"Essential program"Flat funding⚠️ Lip Service
Rarely discussed+25% increase🔍 Hidden Priority
Heavy debate-15% cut❌ Performative Talk

Urgency Levels​

Opportunities are classified by action urgency:

  • 🔴 Critical - Vote imminent, immediate action required
  • 🟠 High - Active debate, high engagement needed
  • 🟡 Medium - Moderate discussion, monitoring recommended
  • 🟢 Low - Early stage, awareness building

Data Quality​

All data comes from 100% free, public sources:

  • Government meeting minutes (required by law to be public)
  • IRS Form 990 filings (public records for tax-exempt organizations)
  • Government budgets (published on official .gov sites)
  • YouTube videos (publicly accessible government channels)

Need Help?​

Non-Technical Questions​

Technical Support​

If you need help setting up or accessing data:

Next Steps​

  1. Explore the Application - Visit http://localhost:5173
  2. Learn the Framework - Read Budget-to-Minutes Analysis
  3. See Examples - Review case studies
  4. Start Your Research - Search for your jurisdiction in Open Navigator