Inspiration
Our project was born out of a frustration we heard again and again from friends and classmates: "I want to understand what's going on, but the moment politicians start talking economics, I'm completely lost." Economic policy affects all of us, yet the way it's discussed often feels like it's meant for a select few with the "right" educational background. We wanted to change that. Our goal: make economics accessible to everyone. We built a tool that cuts through the complexity and helps everyday people understand what proposed policies actually mean for their lives, so that anyone, regardless of their background, can engage in the conversation with confidence.
What it does
Our platform empowers users to take control of their economic understanding in a way that feels personal and relevant. Simply search for a political candidate or a specific economic policy, and our tool breaks down exactly what that policy means and how it would impact your community. Whether you're looking for a quick summary or a deeper dive into the economic mechanics at play, we offer both, so users can engage at whatever level feels comfortable. From a small town in rural America to a bustling city neighborhood, our platform translates broad political proposals into local, tangible impacts, helping everyday people see not just what politicians are promising, but what those promises would actually mean for the place they call home.
How we built it
We developed the full front-end using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We integrated a wide range of datasets and translated them into graphs and visualizations that let users actually see the effects of a policy rather than just read about them. The combination of datasets and interactive visuals was central to our goal: transforming raw economic data into something meaningful, digestible, and genuinely useful for people of all backgrounds.
Challenges we ran into
One of the biggest hurdles was finding reliable data and figuring out how to incorporate it into our charts without letting it become overwhelming. Perhaps our greatest challenge, though, was grappling with the sheer scope of what we were trying to build. The vision behind our platform is broad by design (we want it to be impactful for everyone), but translating that into something functional and polished within a 36-hour window forced us to make hard decisions about what to prioritize.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Through the process of building our platform, we both came away with a significantly stronger command of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — particularly as they apply to data science and data analytics. Using real datasets, building visualizations from scratch, and problem-solving gave us hands-on experience that no classroom could fully replicate. For both of us, a career in data science is the goal, and this project gave us a glimpse into what that path actually looks like in practice. More than anything, this hackathon reaffirmed that we're heading in the right direction and left us even more motivated to keep building, keep learning, and keep pushing toward that future.
What we learned
We gained a deeper understanding that more data doesn't always mean better insights. But beyond that, we also grew a lot as collaborators. Thirty-six hours is a long time to work under pressure with another person, and we learned firsthand how important communication, patience, and trust are when tensions run high and the clock is ticking. Perhaps the most meaningful takeaway, though, was a reminder of why we started in the first place: passion is everything. When the bugs pile up and the deadline looms, it's a genuine love for what you're building that keeps you going.
What's next for Economics Explorer
Looking ahead, we have plans to expand the platform's reach, starting by scaling from individual towns to a full state, and eventually broadening our coverage to serve even larger regions and communities. A core part of that growth will be integrating richer, more diverse datasets to ensure our analysis is as accurate and comprehensive as possible. We also recognize that manually inputting data, while a necessary starting point, simply isn't sustainable at the scale we're envisioning, which is why one of our most exciting next steps is integrating AI to automate data collection, enhance our analysis, and surface insights that would be impossible to catch by hand. Ultimately, we want Economics Explorer to grow into a truly nationwide tool, one where any person, in any community, can search a candidate or policy and instantly understand what it means for their world.
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