FormFest 2026 (September 16, 2026)

In 2026, many applicants to municipal programs used to have an iPad as a babysitter. for the public sector to be approachable, paper processes need to go as soon as possible.

Residents use online .gov domains as a search engine for government - eager to apply to public programs. Success means finding a form for download, printing, filling, then scanning & re-upload, or mailing.

The codebase "DOCX Editor" by EigenPal embeds Word documents into a web app, enabling nuanced editing rules. A user's search can lead to the necessary application, in their current browser session...

"Apply Now!"

An embedded document can enable collaboration, opening channels for "over-the-shoulder" guidance or multi-party applicants. The online form could be rendered alongside a video call, each caller co-authoring the same form.

In the back office, the effects are amplified; a backlog of docx files is far simpler to crunch than a box of paper.

In our session, you'll feel the same experience as any municipal user of 2030. You'll fill in an online demo of a licensing application, and examine your peers' pending applications (for full public disclosure)!

Appendix:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/@eigenpal/docx-editor-core

Official pages (sub-links) are "paused by owner" for business purposes.

Codebase mirrored:

https://operand.online/gram/docs

---

Formerly employed by the Clerk of the US House of Representatives, Calliope specializes in demos of leading-edge web applications, inspiring the current "LegiDex" internal House phone book.

Using the most modern, future-ready programming languages around, Calliope publishes code, essays, and diagrams on operand.online - running fully on local, physical machines and un-beholden to any big-data corporation.

Daily languages:

• Nushell ( nushell.sh )
• Elixir ( elixir-lang.org )
• Nix ( nixos.org )
• Rust ( rust-lang.org )
• D2 ( d2lang.com )

In August, Calliope unleashe[d] an open search engine and forum for legal research at the HOPE conference - "Hackers on Planet Earth": https://www.hope.net/talks/#An-Open-Forum-for-Legal-Research

Calliope also explores the mid-Atlantic and mid-West in a camper as a cyber-nomad, occasional sailor, and gourmet street-noodle chef.

Their gender is "ape" and their pronoun is "someone"; someone can be found on innumerable online forums, encouraging coders to consider the burden of our current decisions on the generations ahead.

---

A granola bar, during hour 11 of an ironman. https://bettertriathlete.com/ironman/average-ironman-time

---

The demo is rather complex and needs some collaborative dry-runs in late August.

---

I once had been a Code for America fellow, and experienced the dissolution of the brigades - on the ground. I'd been unprepared, and some pain lingers from the nuanced damages. I am undergoing peer counseling through the coworking space at DC festival center, from now through September as I build. I applaud and subscribe to your aims, and hope my session's simple guidance is useful. Eyes ahead, and open.