Let's Get Started
Explore Your Needs and Goals
With support from key stakeholders, map the needs of your organization, programs, and community in detail to identify where CiviForm can help.
Design the Forms
Work with program administrators to design a better experience for applicants and staff by simplifying forms and the application process.
Test and Implement
Set up CiviForm to integrate with your existing programs’ infrastructure and processes. Create test and production forms for programs to refine your approach.
Launch and Announce CiviForm
Put your new applications out into the world and conduct outreach in your community.
Iterate and Grow
Would you consider yourself...
To make it easier to bring CiviForm to your community, use the following guides to learn about the process, or to share more information with your team.
Technical?
Visit our Technical Readiness Guide for more information on how IT teams can get started with CiviForm.
Non-Technical?
Visit our Implementation Guide to better understand how program teams can explore needs and goals to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is CiviForm developed and maintained?
CiviForm is an open source project that is collectively developed and maintained by the governments that use it, with additional support from Google.org and Exygy. Read about CiviForm’s governance structure to learn more about how governments work together to make decisions and shape the project.
How much does CiviForm cost?
- CiviForm is open-source software and can be accessed and deployed by governments’ in-house digital services or IT teams without a licensing fee associated. The well documented code is available on Github. You can Get Started, Contact Us, or join the community in Slack (email info@civiform.us to join) to ask any questions.
- CiviForm deployments can also be maintained or assisted by an outside vendor. Currently, the most experienced vendor is Exygy Benefit Corp. As the open source steward of CiviForm, Exygy has a depth of understanding of both the product and the digital transformation work required to spin up and expand services offered. To get more info from Exygy, contact them at publicbenefits@exygy.com or learn more about their work here: https://www.exygy.com/public-benefits.
- In the future, we expect the vendor ecosystem to grow, and additional experienced vendors to become available.
Which governments are using CiviForm?
Residents across the State of Arkansas, in the City of Seattle, Washington as well as the City of Bloomington, Indiana are already benefiting from easier access to government services. Charlotte, North Carolina is conducting a pilot and Miami-Dade County, Florida is starting development. We look forward to more governments joining the software collaborative later this year.
How can I get CiviForm in my community?
Adopting CiviForm requires working closely with program administrators, IT teams, and other stakeholders to successfully understand and meet the needs of programs and residents. See “Get Started” for an overview. If you want more detail, visit the “Implementation Guide” for a detailed look at the process.
Do you have resources I can share with colleagues?
Direct interested colleagues to this website (civiform.us), our documentation (docs.civiform.us), our Product Overview, or our one-page flyer (PDF). You can also get in touch to meet with the team and learn more.
What technical capacity is necessary to deploy and manage CiviForm?
CiviForm is open source software that can be deployed and self-hosted on each government’s own cloud or on-premises infrastructure. Existing IT staff with knowledge of cloud or on-premises systems can set up and manage CiviForm with minimal effort. Once CiviForm is deployed, non-technical users can manage programs and questions through a user-friendly interface. Read more about infrastructure requirements and staffing needs.
How does CiviForm store and manage applicant information?
Because CiviForm’s underlying infrastructure is self-hosted by each government, all applicant information is stored and managed by each government in accordance with their security and privacy policies. Read more about security and privacy considerations in CiviForm.
Why is CiviForm built as open source software?
CiviForm is built as a government software collaborative, which provides a way of co-developing and maintaining shared government software that reduces long-term maintenance costs and makes it easier to adapt to the changing needs of programs and communities. CiviForm’s open source approach is grounded in principles of transparency, community ownership, and community-driven development. Member organizations contribute to CiviForm’s shared codebase through collective planning and decision-making processes (read about CiviForm’s governance processes here).
Are open source tools like CiviForm secure?
Yes. Open source software is widely used across critical web infrastructure, including by secure government services such as Login.gov. CiviForm’s maintainers regularly update software dependencies and publish a new release each week. CiviForm’s approach to open source software development is inspired by best practices from technical government organizations such as 18F.
