Game jams and hackathons are collaborative events where participants come together to create innovative solutions, such as apps, games, or tools, within a short, focused timeframe—often over a weekend. For legal aid organizations, these events can serve as a platform to brainstorm and develop creative technology-driven solutions to challenges in access to justice. By engaging with technologists, designers, and legal professionals, organizations can generate fresh ideas, prototype new tools, and build partnerships to better serve their communities.

In early 2017, a few organizations teamed up to host the Social Justice Game Jam. During the process of organizing and hosting the game jam, mistakes were made and lessons were learned. This guide is the essence of those experiences. By sharing this guide, we hope organizations will be encouraged to organize similar events. A copy of the guide may be downloaded below.