TICTeC Labs

From 2021 to 2023, with thanks to financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy, mySociety ran ‘TICTeC Labs’, a programme of events, working groups, grants and solutions.

The aim of TICTeC Labs was to discuss and tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the global civic tech/digital democracy sector, in order to grow the civic tech evidence base, address issues, and enhance the effectiveness and potential impact of civic tech projects.

Browse TICTeC Labs

Challenges
Civic Tech Surgeries

Global gatherings to discuss the civic tech field’s biggest challenges

Solution seeking
Action Labs

Working groups to discuss and decide on solutions to commission

Grants for solutions
Grants and solutions

To help tackle civic tech challenges identified

Civic Tech Surgeries

Online events bringing together the global civic tech community to discuss challenges facing the sector, share existing research and experience, and identify evidence gaps and other needs. There were six surgeries across the TICTeC Labs programme, each focused on a specific theme identified by the Steering Group as a key challenge for the global civic tech sector.

See recordings and resources from all Civic Tech Surgeries

Civic tech surgeries

Action Labs

A collaborative and action-oriented process to take forward ideas generated in civic tech surgeries and support initiatives that address common challenges. Following each Civic Tech Surgery, an Action Lab (working group) of around 6-7 people was brought together to discuss the challenges raised at the Surgery, and to decide what solutions would be useful to produce in order to address them. They then used TICTeC Grants to commission solutions. Thank you so much to all 37 members of these Action Labs for taking the time to be involved and connect.

Find out more

Action labs

Grants and solutions

Thanks to TICTeC Labs grants and the work of Action Lab members, six projects were carried out to help tackle common civic tech challenges, and to grow the civic tech evidence base.

Find out more about solutions produced

members discussing ideas

Reflections event

To round off the programme, mySociety hosted an online event ‘Unlocking civic tech impact: reflections on TICTeC Labs‘ on 16th March 2023. The event featured presentations from TICTeC Labs subgrantees on the work produced thanks to the programme, and how these have met the needs identified in the Civic Tech Surgeries and Action Labs. Members of the Steering Group and Action Labs also reflected on how this experimental format worked – the successes and the challenges – and which aspects of it would be taken forward into future TICTeC activities.

Watch the event recording on YouTube.

TICTeC Labs steering group

In order to help guide and promote the TICTeC Labs programme, as well as to make it as relevant and inclusive as possible to local and regional contexts and contributors, we established a global TICTeC Labs Steering Group. The following exceptional people have served on the TICTeC Labs Steering Group, and we thank them for their contributions:

Neema
Neema Iyer

Founder

Pollicy

Oscar
Oscar Montiel

Technology Manager

Ranking Digital Rights

Isabel
Isabel Hou

Open Culture Foundation

g0v

Matt Stempeck
Matt Stempeck

Technologist in Residence, Cornell University

Founder and director of the Civic Tech Field Guide

Nonso
Nonso Jideofor

Funding & Partnerships Manager

Code for All

The TICTeC Labs programme was made possible thanks to generous financial support from The National Endowment for Democracy (NED). We thank them for their support