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What is Civic Tech: Toward finalizing a basic framework so that we can move on with it already
The document provides an overview of civic technology, defining it as the use of technology for the public good while emphasizing the significance of its social processes and collaborative aspects. It outlines various tools, functions, and organizational methods within the civic tech landscape, aiming to guide stakeholders on how to implement and leverage these technologies effectively. The discussion indicates that civic tech encompasses more than just technology, focusing also on the engagement of people in the civic space.
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What is Civic Tech: Toward finalizing a basic framework so that we can move on with it already
- 1. WHAT IS CIVICTECH: TOWARD FINALIZING A BASIC FRAMEWORK SO THAT WE CAN MOVE ON WITH IT ALREADY MICAH SIFRY, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CIVIC HALL MATT STEMPECK, DIRECTOR OF CIVIC TECHNOLOGY, MICROSOFT ERIN SIMPSON, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, CIVIC HALL LABS
- 2. It helps tohave a map if you want to know where you’re going.
- 3. WHAT WE’RE GOINGTO COVER IN THE NEXT 20 MINUTES 1. TOPLINE DEFINITION - WHAT IS IT 2. COMMON TOOL TYPES - WHAT IS ITS FUNCTION 3. COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES - HOW DOES IT WORK 4. WAYS TO ORGANIZE - WHY, WHO, WHAT
- 4. CIVIC TECH ISTHE USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD TOPLINE DEFINITION
- 5. RE THE PUBLICGOOD: IT IS CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY SUBJECTIVE. WE USE PUBLIC TO DISTINGUISH FROM PERSONAL AND PRIVATE. “PUBLIC GOOD” DEALS WITH SHARED PUBLIC CHALLENGES.
- 6. PHIL ASHLOCK, NICK GROSSMAN, ANDREWMCLAUGHLIN →
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- 12. COMMON FUNCTIONS Crowdfunding platforms Benefitnavigation tools Campaign organizing platforms Check-in tools Constituent to Government communication tools Crowdsourced data collection Data schemas and standards Data Visualization tools and Platforms Event organizing tools Freedom of Information tools Government to constituent communications Group communication tools Group decision-making tools Ideation tools Issue reporting platforms Legislation engagement platforms Mapping platforms Marketplaces and Clearinghouses Neighborhood forums Online Petition sites Open data publishing platforms Opinion matching platforms Resource matching/sharing sites Sensors Service alerts Watchdogging and Transparency projects
- 13. COMMON FUNCTIONS Crowdfunding platforms Benefitnavigation tools Campaign organizing platforms Check-in tools Constituent to Government communication tools Crowdsourced data collection Data schemas and standards Data Visualization tools and Platforms Event organizing tools Freedom of Information tools Government to constituent communications Group communication tools Group decision-making tools Ideation tools Issue reporting platforms Legislation engagement platforms Mapping platforms Marketplaces and Clearinghouses Neighborhood forums Online Petition sites Open data publishing platforms Opinion matching platforms Resource matching/sharing sites Sensors Service alerts Watchdogging and Transparency projects
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- 15. COMMON FUNCTIONS Crowdfunding platforms Benefitnavigation tools Campaign organizing platforms Check-in tools Constituent to Government communication tools Crowdsourced data collection Data schemas and standards Data Visualization tools and platforms Event organizing tools Freedom of Information tools Government to constituent communications Group communication tools Group decision-making tools Ideation tools Issue reporting platforms Legislation engagement platforms Mapping platforms Marketplaces and Clearinghouses Neighborhood forums Online Petition sites Open data publishing platforms Opinion matching platforms Resource matching/sharing sites Sensors Service alerts Watchdogging and Transparency projects
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- 17. Crowdfunding platforms Benefit navigationtools Campaign organizing platforms Check-in tools Constituent to Government communication tools Crowdsourced data collection Data schemas and standards Data Visualization tools and Platforms Event organizing tools Freedom of Information tools Government to constituent communications Group communication tools Group decision-making tools Ideation tools Issue reporting platforms Legislation engagement platforms Mapping platforms Marketplaces and Clearinghouses Neighborhood forums Online Petition sites Open data publishing platforms Opinion matching platforms Resource matching/sharing sites Sensors Service alerts Watchdogging and Transparency projects COMMON FUNCTIONS
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- 19. Crowdfunding platforms Benefit navigationtools Campaign organizing platforms Check-in tools Constituent to Government communication tools Crowdsourced data collection Data schemas and standards Data Visualization tools and Platforms Event organizing tools Freedom of Information tools Government to constituent communications Group communication tools Group decision-making tools Ideation tools Issue reporting platforms Legislation engagement platforms Mapping platforms Marketplaces and Clearinghouses Neighborhood forums Online Petition sites Open data publishing platforms Opinion matching platforms Resource matching/sharing sites Sensors Service alerts Watchdogging and Transparency projects COMMON FUNCTIONS
- 20. BUT ISN’T CIVICTECH MORE THAN JUST TECH? It’s, even more importantly, the people and how they do things together.
- 21. COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES CONVENE Civichacking meetups Backchannels Roundtables Working Groups Physical gathering places, hubs Tech translators & intermediaries Talent Pipeline Peer networks Partner networks Datapalooza Conferences INFORM Journalism, books, podcasts, blogs Educational programs and courses Online Forums Research Centers and Projects Digital Literacy groups Workshops Data analysis for public good BUILD Innovation teams, Labs Open source projects Social impact design groups Foundation initiatives Accelerators Incubators Tech companies with civic teams Behavioral economics programs Open governance initiatives Data sourcing Civic & social good hackathons Civic tech competitions
- 22. AGITATE Politics (electoral +activism), campaigns Artistic interventions Investigative journalism CODIFY Field Definition and Governance Playbooks and design principles Toolkits SUPPORT Accelerate public sector work Fellowship programs COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES
- 23. CONVENE Civic hacking meetups Backchannels Roundtables WorkingGroups Physical gathering places, hubs Tech translators & intermediaries Talent Pipeline Peer networks Partner networks Datapalooza Conferences INFORM Journalism, books, radio shows, blogs Educational programs and courses Online Forums Research Centers and Projects Digital Literacy groups Workshops Data analysis for public good BUILD Innovation teams, Labs Open source projects Social impact design groups Foundation initiatives Accelerators Incubators Tech companies with civic teams Behavioral economics programs Open governance initiatives Data sourcing Civic & social good hackathons Civic tech competitions COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSESCOMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES
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- 25. CONVENE Civic hacking meetups Backchannels Roundtables WorkingGroups Physical gathering places, hubs Tech translators & intermediaries Talent Pipeline Peer networks Partner networks Datapalooza Conferences INFORM Journalism, books, radio shows, blogs Educational programs and courses Online Forums Research Centers and Projects Digital Literacy groups Workshops Data analysis for public good BUILD Innovation teams, Labs Open source projects Social impact design groups Foundation initiatives Accelerators Incubators Tech companies with civic teams Behavioral economics programs Open governance initiatives Data sourcing Civic & social good hackathons Civic tech competitions COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSESCOMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES
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- 27. CONVENE Civic hacking meetups Backchannels Roundtables WorkingGroups Physical gathering places, hubs Tech translators & intermediaries Talent Pipeline Peer networks Partner networks Datapalooza Conferences INFORM Journalism, books, radio shows, blogs Educational programs and courses Online Forums Research Centers and Projects Digital Literacy groups Workshops Data analysis for public good BUILD Innovation teams, Labs Open source projects Social impact design groups Foundation initiatives Accelerators Incubators Tech companies with civic teams Behavioral economics programs Open governance initiatives Data sourcing Civic & social good hackathons Civic tech competitions COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSESCOMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES
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- 29. CONVENE Civic hacking meetups Backchannels Roundtables WorkingGroups Physical gathering places, hubs Tech translators & intermediaries Talent Pipeline Peer networks Partner networks Datapalooza Conferences INFORM Journalism, books, radio shows, blogs Educational programs and courses Online Forums Research Centers and Projects Digital Literacy groups Workshops Data analysis for public good BUILD Innovation teams, Labs Open source projects Social impact design groups Foundation initiatives Accelerators Incubators Tech companies with civic teams Behavioral economics programs Open governance initiatives Data sourcing Civic & social good hackathons Civic tech competitions COMMON SOCIAL PROCESSESCOMMON SOCIAL PROCESSES
- 30. WAYS TO ORGANIZE Degreeof Change Conformist Reformist Transformist Who Pays (Customer) Government Philanthropy Private Who Uses (User) Gov Organization Individual How Civic Civic Feature Civic Product Civic Externality
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- 34. DEGREE OF CHANGE *TonyRoberts made this up! Conformist Reformist Transformist
- 35. HOW CIVIC Civic Feature CivicProduct Civic Externality
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- 37. BREAK ME. ONLINE: http://bit.ly/organizecivictech INPERSON: IN THE HALLWAY! AT PERSONAL DEMOCRACY FORUM, JUNE 9 AND 10 IN NYC
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- 39. THIS IS THEBEGINNING, NOT THE END. THANKS
Editor's Notes
- #2 MICAH We’re presenting these four things to you today. Micah introduces Matt and Erin Micah: Been tracking this for dozen + years, PDF, Civic Hall, etc. Matt: representing cross-sector experience of the fields converged into civic tech Erin: Microsoft, thesis on digital equity and community institutions, White House, CGI and now Labs
- #3 Micah: Field of civic tech about to take off. We see a convergence of trends. Techies trying to do good. Gov realizing new benefits of openness. Gov and community expected to do more with less. Rising interest from investors, philanthropists, media, futurists who see a gathering force. These four factors propelling civic tech forward, but we believe it’s time for better definition, and not just about the buzz word but about the functional elements it consists of so that we can do a better job of understanding the field. Researchers who are trying to help codify and clarify Why are we presenting this? Without clarity about what is civic tech, we will continue to be challenged in efforts to: share knowledge with one another attract more participation in the field move resources in productive directions study and measure impact Erin: The definitional work is a precursor to more rigorous research in our minds. We believe that we need to start articulating our impact better and at Civic Hall Labs we’re partnering with a group of these tools that are willing to let us measure their impact, but first felt the need to do due diligence and create this beginning framework within which to situate research about particular activities in the field.
- #4 We have four goals for this talk And in the last part of our talk we want to leave you with some ideas on how to organize horizontally across the field certain core questions on the who, what, and why of civic tech tools and processes
- #5 -The point of this definition is to communicate what we do externally. We would like to propose that when someone asks you in the elevator, you can answer with this. -It's intentionally broad - we see civic tech as an umbrella term which captures and includes subcategories like gov tech -Not bound to government--depending on context, the best thing for the common good might not be working with your government--civic tech is bigger than that
- #6 IT IS CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY SUBJECTIVE. WE USE PUBLIC TO DISTINGUISH FROM PERSONAL AND PRIVATE. “PUBLIC GOOD” DEALS WITH SHARED PUBLIC CHALLENGES.
- #10 Continuation of conversation
- #13 Erin: Our methodology took the approach of going from the specific to the general: we looked at what tools and companies actually existed and then worked to group them by technical function. We chose to stay out of domains -- like ed tech, or smart cities -- and instead focus on what the technology enables, making most of these categories domain agnostic. . So you’re seeing here our list of common functions, each identified through analysis of a couple of hundred civic tech tools and companies. These are not mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive. Part of our purpose in being here today is to gather additional data from you and get your criticisms on our work in order to improve it. Now, we’re going to go through and talk about three categories that we think are representative. We didn’t pick these out for any critically important reason, there are dozens of verticals to populate, we just want to show you how it works.
- #14 Digital communication channels between constituents and representatives, trying to improve the feedback loop.
- #15 PopVox, Countable, Write to Them, Neighborland, Citizen Budget Digital communication channels between constituents and representatives, trying to improve the feedback loop.
- #16 Platforms that enable residents to notify their government(s) of items in need of attention, often municipal.
- #17 SeeClickFix, Ushahidi, FixMyStreet, PublicStuff, Repara Platforms that enable residents to notify their government(s) of items in need of attention, often municipal.
- #19 Public Lab, I See Change, Street Bump, WayCount, Heat Seek Technology that quantifies the physical environment, such as traffic or environmental factors.
- #20 Just three of dozens of functions
- #21 BUT ISN’T CIVIC TECH MORE THAN THE TOOLS AND PLATFORMS AND COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO MAKE THEM? OF COURSE. In doing this work, we realize that civic tech ECOSYSTEM is not just about new technology. It is the social processes on top of the technologies that are key to driving impact in civic tech. So we inventoried dozens of the social processes, from the new class of hackathons and open source projects to time-honored traditions like gathering in shared spaces, that people engage in Our shorthand for this is social processes Which are how people employ the tech to actually drive the impact
- #31 Erin: We view this work as a prerequisite to asking more critical research questions. Thus, we’ve also developed a handful of suggested horizontal ways to organize the field that, together with our categories, can be particularly useful to researchers, funders, and wonks seeking to understand the space. Categorizing civic tech projects horizontally across the ecosystem by such meta-questions as “who pays” or “what degree of change are they seeking” may allow us to see the broader patterns in the forest, rather than the individual trees. It can also help a newcomer--for example, if it turns out that of the many sites around the world devoted to legislative transparency, 90% are funded by foundations, if you are thinking of starting one in your country, you probably want to make sure you have foundation support. Essentially, these help us think about the question “to what end?” How much change are we asking for? Who is it for? And how do we fund it?
- #36 Matt talks about the differences here and gives example of each.
- #37 Old growth dies, leaving room for new growth. We intentionally included failed products in our review. It’s important to be able to track longevity and growth of efforts in this space in order to learn more about success and failure. It also helps us make --different-- mistakes, and point entrepreneurs who come into the space trying to recreate a failed effort to the past attempts and lessons learned.
- #38 This is flawed. We only speak English really. We welcome your input now and your late night rants later in our google sheet
- #40 We intentionally included failed products in our review. It’s important to be able to track longevity and growth of efforts in this space in order to learn more about success and failure. It also helps us make --different-- mistakes, and point entrepreneurs who come into the space trying to recreate a failed effort to the past attempts and lessons learned. -elana -