At Houston Hackathon, we believe that everyone should feel comfortable, accepted, and safe. For this reason, our Code of Conduct is very important and guides the culture of the hackathon. Please read it in full. We reserve the right to remove and/or disqualify any persons or teams that breach this code. Thank you!

Impact Hub Houston asks all participants to honor the Hackathon Code of Conduct:

1. Create a safe and welcoming environment for all participants. The Hackathon is a place where people should feel free to contribute positively, and feel free from discrimination or harassment.

2. Respect others: Everyone’s ideas, skills, and contributions have value.

3. Encourage questions. People come from all walks of life here, so refrain from assuming that everyone has the same context and understanding. Create space to learn, together!

4. Create ways for people to contribute positively with their skills and energy. Use additive language such as “yes/and” as opposed to destructive language like “no/but.”

5. Step Up & Step Back: Encourage quiet members and participants to speal up and share their ideas, and invite vocal ones to listen up and make room for other voices.

6. Aim to design solutions that anyone can use and build tools that are open. Bonus points for designing and developing solutions with input from and access for those who are often excluded from the civic process: Ensure that the community's diversity is well-represented in the planning, design, and implementation of civic tech!

7. Actively involve mission-aligned stakeholders and those with subject matter expertise. Ensure that conversations and interactions among community members, local government, and community partners remain respectful and helpful.

8. Aim for solutions that will truly achieve positive impact for the greater good!

Impact Hub Houston and Houston Hackathon volunteers reserve the right to ask anyone in violation of this Code of Conduct to leave or not participate in the event and any related activities, events, and digital forums. If you wish to report someone in violation of this Code, please contact the Impact Hub Houston team at email: houston[at]impacthub.net.

1. Progress
   How far did the team get? Were they able to create a plan or prototype?
   Was the challenge well-researched?
   Was the solution well-designed? 

2. Potential
   How effective would this be at solving the stated challenge or need?
   Could this scale to address other challenges and/or serve other communities?

3. Viability
   Can this solution be reasonably implemented and used?
   Do resources already exist, or are easy to secure, to continue developing this solution to fulfill its potential and impact?
   Will people be able to easily access and adopt it?

4. Impact
   How big of an impact will this solution make?
   How many people and communities will it help?