Anna Colom

Open University, UK

Anna is a doctoral student at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the Open University. Her research seeks to apply an intersectional approach to exploring the potential influence of digital development in the citizenship identity of women in Kenya. She is interested in exploring how the use of digital technologies may influence issues of agency, otherness, power and political engagement, grounding the research on both the human capabilities approach and critical theories of citizenship.

Prior to her DPhil at the Open University, Anna has worked for BBC Media Action as a Senior Research Manager, designing and conducting research to inform and evaluate social and behaviour change communication and media development programmes across Africa. She has also worked as a researcher for the London School of Economics and Political Science and consulted for a number of NGOs. She completed an MSc in Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and holds a degree in Journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She is also a trained Participatory Video facilitator and a documentary filmmaker.

Speaking In

Bridging the Civic Tech research divide

This hands-on session offers participants the opportunity to collaboratively develop connections across the different research and practitioner communities in Civic Tech.

Examining different research practices, exploring the multiple roles that we play, and facilitating discussion, we identify how useful knowledge about Civic Tech can be created, shared, and incorporated into our projects.