FAQ

Who built this project?

Agenda Watch was built by Big Local News in partnership with the Reynolds Journalism Institute.

The Brown Institute for Media Innovation based at Stanford University and Columbia University has supported the development of both Big Local News and Agenda Watch. The Lenfest Institute also contributed to the effort as did The Associated Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

How frequently do you update your data?

We check agencies for new documents once a day.

What agencies do you cover?

Agenda Watch plans to cover more than 2,000 agencies across the country. We currently target agencies that use common software platforms such as CivicPlus or Legistar. If you don't see your agency on those lists, it doesn't mean we can't scrape them! We have begun to compile a comprehensive list of agency websites where agendas, minutes and meeting recordings are posted.

Please reach out if you'd like to contribute to that effort by researching agencies in your area, or contributing code to our open-source web scraping framework.

How do I get my local agency added to your platform?

Request your local agency. It's possible we already have the ability to scrape your agency, but we simply don't have it in our list of scraped agencies yet. Or we may need to build in the ability to scrape your local agency. Either way, please request the area you would like covered.

Can we chat about Agenda Watch?

We're always happy to chat about Agenda Watch! Ping us via email or hit us up @BigLocalNews. We'd love to hear from you!

What if I want programmatic access to all the documents?

We provide bulk access and data services to organizations that are Big Local News Data+ members. Learn more about our affiliates program here, or just email.