Empowering civic engagement: leveraging Ushahidi for transparent and inclusive electoral monitoring and governance
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Hear Rhoda Omenya (Ushahidi) explain how Uchaguzi empowers citizens to report incidents during elections, enabling the monitoring of election-related events in near real-time.
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Common civic tech needs across global contexts
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In a year-long series of pro bono clinics, the Civic Tech Field Guide team met with democracy activists working in countries whose democracies are under active threat.
The surprising finding from the consultations was the shared overlap in what these groups reported they needed.
From cybersecurity resources, to self-hosted messaging tech, to warm relationships at big tech platforms, their needs are as specific as they are shared.
Learn about the identified commonalities and resources that begin to address these needs, and what more we, as a field, might be able to do to help.
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Common civic tech needs across global contexts
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In a year-long series of pro bono clinics, the Civic Tech Field Guide team met with democracy activists working in countries whose democracies are under active threat.
The surprising finding from the consultations was the shared overlap in what these groups reported they needed.
From cybersecurity resources, to self-hosted messaging tech, to warm relationships at big tech platforms, their needs are as specific as they are shared.
Learn about the identified commonalities and resources that begin to address these needs, and what more we, as a field, might be able to do to help.
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From data to democracy: the role of DCinbox in shaping informed citizenship and government accountability
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Lindsey Cormack (Stevens Institute of Technology) presents DCinbox, an archive of every official e-newsletter sent from members of the United States Congress, with nearly 200,000 missives spanning more than 15 years. This data allows findings on political representation, public health information dissemination, propensities for legislators to emulate the style of the President, gendered communication, and more.
Redefined civic tech: community-centric impact stories from Georgia
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AskGov in Georgia, based on mySociety’s Alaveteli platform, hosts 1,118 datasets. What sets it apart is that the data does not remain confined to the platform: through contests, fellowship programmes and datathons, storytelling and data visualisation projects are distributed to a mass audience, with topics such as the environment, corruption, transparency, gender and occupation.
This TICTeC 2024 presentation by Vero Melua from ForSet shares more.
How to use AI in analysing mass responses to FOI requests
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Authorities hold information that could clarify societal discussions — but the formats it is held in can make it challenging to interpret digitally. Fedrowanie streamlines the gathering of information from public institutions through mass FOI requests. A recent evolution from manual volunteer work to AI integration represents a leap in enhancing public discourse and governance.
In this TICTeC 2024 presentation, Marzena Blaszczyk (Citizens Network Watchdog Poland) shares their work with AI to analyse mass responses to FOI requests.
Communities of practice for government: crowdsourcing knowledge and ideas for digital government services
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In the civic technology ecosystem, creating spaces and pathways for government practitioners and teams to connect and learn from one another is critical as we seek to address ongoing challenges in the design and delivery of government services, attract talent to public service, and retain people with the knowledge, skills, and abilities in government roles.
In this TICTeC 2024 presentation, Kelly Henderson and Michaela Caudill (Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University) share real-world lessons about cultivating communities of practice and building out programing and structures that facilitate the sharing of knowledge, artefacts, and ideas. These communities provide spaces that meaningfully inform government practitioners and teams in designing and delivering government services.
Adaptive re-use of data for the adaptive re-use of high streets: building and scaling a local data service for London’s local authorities
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Despite narratives on the decline of UK high streets, there are many examples of local community partnerships applying strategies to repurpose traditional retail space and meet modern community needs. In London, this is supported by the High Streets Data Service and its adaptive re-use of big, private-sector data to deliver local, public-sector research and analysis. Hear Lauren Wool (Greater London Authority High Streets Data Service) talk about the project at TICTeC 2024.
Can robots lobby? AI, democracy and political persuasion
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Lobbying is a negative influence often connected to corruption, secrecy and poor behaviour. But can AI change things for the better, improving the abilities of those who monitor lobbying, or helping raise awareness of problems? Conversely, will AI bring increased powers for political persuaders, perhaps even introducing the robot lobbyist?
At TICTeC 2024, Ben Worthy from Birkbeck College presented a paper asking how AI can change lobbying for better or worse. It looks in turn at how AI can allow different groups to do the same things but better; and do new things. It draws on examples from the UK and US, as well as wider academic studies, to predict what may happen, and offer a framework.
Q&A for ‘Citizen science for climate action’ TICTeC 2024 session
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Question and answer session for the following TICTeC 2024 presentations:
– Empowering community action through open mapping in disaster response and climate action – Petya Kangalova (Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, UK)
– From data to action: FloodLight’s impact on disaster response in Pakistan – Ibraheem Saleem (Code for Pakistan, Pakistan)
– Civic tech and journalism: impact through collaboration – Christoph Raetzsch (Aarhus University, Denmark)
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Civic tech and journalism: impact through collaboration
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Impact beyond a project’s runtime depends on embedding stakeholder interests from the start, to ensure uptake after a project is finished. Through European and Japanese examples of citizen-sensed data and journalistic storytelling as well as audience engagement, this TICTeC 2024 presentation by Christoph Raetzsch (Aarhus University) underlines the need for collaborations between civic tech activists and journalists.
From data to action: FloodLight’s impact on disaster response in Pakistan
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In this TICTeC 2024 presentation from Code for Pakistan, hear about FloodLight, a volunteer-led disaster response platform, addresses the challenges of flooding in Pakistan. Launched in response to devastating floods which left one-third of the nation submerged, two million acres of agricultural land destroyed, and resulted in thousands of casualties, the platform emerged as a crucial tool in disaster management.
Empowering community action through open mapping in disaster response and climate action
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When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team can mobilise thousands of volunteers, online and on the ground, to create open data that enables disaster responders to reach those in need. Open mapping is mobilising mass community action in disaster response, and open source technologies are enabling the collective mapping efforts.
In this TICTeC 2024 presentation by Petya Kangalova from the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team Hear stories on the impact open mapping has had, including mapping in response to the earthquakes in Turkey/Syria and Morocco, and floods in Libya.
Reflections on the challenges of practising digital democratic innovation
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Critical discussion of digital innovation in democracy typically points to gaps between aspirations and realities. Despite initial optimism about the potential of new technologies, research has tended to be much more pessimistic. At TICTeC 2024, Matt Ryan from the University of Southampton presented research exploring the space between naïve optimism and cynical pessimism by asking us to reflect on digital tools’ ability to enhance democracy in practice.
Data for democracy: a Canadian perspective on how governments can leverage civil society to hold big tech accountable
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The SAMbot project uses machine learning to evaluate abusive content sent to Canadian political candidates during elections. Bill-63, a new draft bill from Canada’s federal government which incorporates an Online Harms Act, may be the key to supporting research into how digital technologies are affecting our social fabric.
This TICTeC 2024 presentation from Sabreena Delhon and
Alex MacIsaac explores Canada’s recent data transparency efforts from the position of researchers at the Samara Centre for Democracy, and considers the potential for the new legislation to make a meaningful contribution to safeguarding Canadian and global democratic norms.
Routing algorithms, 20-minute neighbourhoods and hills in Scottish towns
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The Scottish government committed to support 20 minute neighbourhoods — but not all algorithms are equal, even the simplest ones. Scotland’s particularly hilly towns present a challenge. How does the 20 minute neighbourhood profile change, in different Scottish towns, when the routing algorithm takes up/down hill walking into consideration?
In her TICTeC 2024 presentation, Gala presents analysis on the accessibility (or lack thereof) to transportation and services in a number of Scottish towns, taking into consideration slower paces when walking uphill, downhill, and both uphill and downhill.
Q&A for ‘Civic tech for transparency’ session at TICTeC 2024
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Question and answer session for the following TICTeC 2024 presentations:
– How civic tech is unveiling corruption and championing democracy and environmental protection in Brazil – Maria Vitória Ramos (Fiquem Sabendo, Brazil)
– Empowering communities: Budeshi’s impact on transparency and accountability in Nigerian government projects – Nnenna Eze (Public and Private Development Centre, Nigeria)
– Have you empirically improved transparency and accountability? – Shaun Russell (OpenUp, South Africa)
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Have you empirically improved transparency and accountability?
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How can you say empirically that the work you are doing has made things more transparent in your field? If your work is nebulous and difficult to measure in real world impact, this is a challenge — and one faced by a collaboratively-made data visualisation tool aimed to make the South African parliament more transparent and accountable. For tips on how to measure the impact and effectiveness of your civic tech tools, check out this TICTeC 2024 presentation from Shaun Russell from OpenUp in South Africa.
Empowering communities: Budeshi’s impact on transparency and accountability in Nigerian government projects
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Hear from Nnenna Eze (Public and Private Development Centre, Nigeria)’s TICTeC 2024 presentation on Budeshi, the open-contracting tool, which has emerged as a pivotal platform facilitating transparency and accountability in public procurement. Data from Freedom of Information requests is published on the platform to allow thorough monitoring exercises across various Nigerian states. Journalists have been trained and communities empowered to independently investigate and report on discrepancies.
How civic tech is unveiling corruption and championing democracy and environmental protection in Brazil
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Hear from Maria Vitória Ramos (Fiquem Sabendo, Brazil) about two award-winning initiatives that address the power imbalance between society and the state, using Freedom of Information and a multidisciplinary approach integrating journalism, advocacy, training, and civic technology to monitor governmental spending and provide oversight of lobbying. The results? Pivotal public reports and significant legislative reforms.
Q&A for ‘mySociety and partners – working on climate’ TICTeC 2024 session
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Question and answer session at TICTeC 2024 for the following presentations:
– Data, prototyping and partnerships: mySociety’s approach to the climate/democracy problem – Zarino Zappia (mySociety, UK)
Scoring councils on their climate action
– Don von Rohland (Climate Emergency UK)
Fragmented climate data in the UK – Julia Cushion (mySociety, UK)
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Fragmented climate data in the UK
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Fragmented data is frustrating for everyone – it reduces the economic value of data, wastes taxpayers’ money, and prevents innovative, collaborative solutions to the climate crisis. In this short TICTeC 2024 talk, mySociety’s Julia Cushion shares some findings from mySociety’s product and policy work on improving data sharing between civil society, local/national government, and citizens.
Scoring councils on their climate action
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What difference can a small organisation make? With the right data — a lot. Climate Emergency UK first assessed every local council’s Climate Action Plan, and then moved onto marking actual climate action, publishing the results as a set of in-depth Scorecards. The real-life impacts of these scores have been notable. Find out more from this TICTeC 2024 presentation from Don von Rohland.
Data, prototyping and partnerships: mySociety’s approach to the climate/democracy problem
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Find out what works and what doesn’t, from three years of mySociety experience at the intersection of democracy and the climate crisis. Zarino, mySociety’s Climate Programme Lead, shares how we explored the challenges that communities are facing around climate, identified solutions we could test with data and technology, and then partnered with the right organisations to make those solutions effective.
What is the role of civic tech in enabling the effective and democratic change needed to meet the challenge of climate change?
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At this TICTeC 2024 panel discussion, Genevieve Maitland Hudson (Social Investment Business / mySociety)
Maddy Carroll (Director, UK Programme, European Climate Foundation), Dr. Michal Nachmany (Founder and CEO, Climate Policy Radar) and Aleks Berditchevskaia (Principal Researcher, Nesta Centre for Collective Intelligence Design) discuss the opportunities and challenges that civic technology presents, when it comes to democratic climate action.
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TICTeC 2024 keynote address: Putting Democracy back into Climate Action
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Nick Mabey from E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism)’s TICTeC 2024 keynote speech. Nick emphasised the need to put democratic values, institutional strengthening, and governance innovation back at the heart of climate action if we are serious about protecting everyone from catastrophic climate damage.
Welcome to TICTeC 2024 Day 2
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mySociety’s CEO Louise Crow’s opening address during the second day of TICTeC 2024.
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Empowering civic engagement: leveraging Ushahidi for transparent and inclusive electoral monitoring and governance
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Hear Rhoda Omenya (Ushahidi) explain how Uchaguzi empowers citizens to report incidents during elections, enabling the monitoring of election-related events in near real-time.
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Moving from digital tools to digital public spaces: building infrastructures for digital citizen participation
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When thinking about digital technologies for participation as public spaces, the narrative can shift to promote a stronger role for public authorities in developing, deploying and monitoring such technologies. The Getting Civic Tech Right for Democracy work from the OECD helps suggest first recommendations towards a more holistic perspective for digital participation. Mauricio Mejia Galvan (OECD) presents these recommendations.
Combining online mass-consultation with a citizens’ assembly for effective participation
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Learn from Dr. Dominik Hierlemann and Stefan Roch from Bertelsmann Stiftung about the “Forum against Fakes”, a nationwide debate on the topic, run by Bertelsmann Stiftung with the German Ministry of the Interior. A multistep process combined online consultation with a citizens’ assembly, with the deliberate aim of combining the strengths of both.
The critical role of civic technology and cybersecurity in sustaining Russian anti-war civil society in exile
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Learn from Denis Yagodin (Teplitsa) about the strategies and cybersecurity practices of Russian anti-war civil society in exile, including the use of social media, chatbots, and encrypted communication to safely mobilise, share information, and support democratic values. There is a crucial role for cybersecurity in protecting these activities from state surveillance and interference — and upholding democracy.
Q&A for ‘Citizen engagement and parliamentary monitoring’ TICTeC 2024 session
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Q&A session for these TICTeC 2024 presentations:
– From data to democracy: the role of DCinbox in shaping informed citizenship and government accountability – Lindsey Cormack (Stevens Institute of Technology, US)
– Thailand’s first parliamentary monitoring tool – Thanisara Ruangdej (GG) (Punch Up & WeVis, Thailand)
– Empowering citizens: how Querido Diário is making Brazilian city policies accessible – Giulio Carvalho (Open Knowledge Brasil, Brazil) and Renne Rocha (Querido Diário, Brazil)
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TICTeC 2024 keynote address: Joining the dots on civic tech and anti-corruption
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At TICTeC 2024 María Baron from Directorio Legislativo shared insights drawn from a rich career working from different angles to support and defend democracy across Latin America and globally. She shared insights into Directorio Legislativo’s digital anti-corruption solution, and approach to consensus building across polarised stakeholders, the latest milestone in their work to strengthen democracies across Latin America and beyond.
Empowering citizens: how Querido Diário is making Brazilian city policies accessible
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Querido Diário, a project by Open Knowledge Brasil, meticulously maps, scrapes and publishes the official gazettes of 350 cities, rendering them accessible through a user-friendly web interface and API. The project is implemented collaboratively by a community of more than a hundred people. Discover how Querido Diário is breaking down barriers and empowering citizens to engage with their cities’ policies.
Thailand’s first parliamentary monitoring tool
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Discover WeVis’ path to launching Parliament Watch, an open-source comprehensive platform that serves as a one-stop solution for monitoring Thailand’s parliament — and the challenges they faced along the way. Inspired by platforms like TheyWorkForYou and GovTrack, but adapting them to Thailand’s own political landscape, the initiative aims to increase political transparency.
Fostering inclusive approaches to technological innovations for climate action
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Hear Pyrou Chung present a set of recommendations for policymakers investing in technological innovations for nature-based solutions (NbS), advocating for a cautious approach in investing in these solutions, informed by rights, responsibility and reciprocity.
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Challenges of implementing civic tech projects in adverse environments
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Hear from Courteney Mukoyi (Justice Code Foundation) on the challenges of implementing civic technology in Zimbabwe. Difficulties include poor internet infrastructure, competing platforms for users’ attention — and a hostile dictatorship that will clamp down on anything perceived as anti-government.
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Democracy under threat – how does civic tech have to shift to adapt to the problems of the current era?
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Louise Crow (mySociety),
Enrique Bravo-Escobar (National Endowment for Democracy NED), Helena Puig Larrauri (Build Up), Vakau J.S. (Access Now), Claire Foulquier-Gazagnes (Google) and
María Baron (Directorio Legislativo)
discuss the urgency of the democratic crisis, and how civic technology might need to evolve to enable true democratic governance.
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How to build a country-led election coalitions and combat misinformation online
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Megan Babakar (Google) shares the key findings from a six month research project involving interviews with fifteen global experts which culminated in the development of an election coalitions playbook. The research provides insights and identifies best practices from some of the most successful election coalitions from the past decade.The findings show there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating an election coalition to combat misinformation during an election. But there are some common themes, questions, approaches, and ideas that all successful coalitions share.
Safeguarding elections and democracies
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Question and answer session for the following TICTeC 2024 presentations:
How to build a country-led election coalitions and combat misinformation online – Mevan Babakar (Google, UK)
Common civic tech needs across global contexts – Matt Stempeck (Civic Tech Field Guide, Portugal/US)
Empowering civic engagement: leveraging Ushahidi for transparent and inclusive electoral monitoring and governance – Rhoda Omenya (Ushahidi, Kenya)
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