Group items tagged

The MIT Center for Civic Media works hand in hand with diverse communities to collaboratively create, design, deploy, and assess civic media tools and practices. We are inventors of new technologies that support and foster civic media and political action, we are a hub for the study of these technologies, and we coordinate community-based design processes locally in the Boston area, across the United States, and around the world.

Civic Exchange is a platform for improving public services by showcasing and promoting the reuse of civic software. This includes online tools that support public service delivery, apps/services built on government APIs, or initiatives piloted with a local authority and created by others. The platform is run by Nesta in collaboration with our Code for Europe partners.

Data for policy changes, improvement of public services, improvement in marketing and enabling civic participation. An angle for the Digital Engagement team?

'If you are trying to connect with the public, where you go online matters. If you choose to make Facebook your platform for civic activity, you are implicitly suggesting that a specific class of people is more worth your time and attention than others. Of course, splitting your attention can also be costly and doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be reaching everyone anyhow. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. The key to developing a social media strategy is to understand who you're reaching and who you're not and make certain that your perspective is accounting for said choices. Understand your biases and work to counter them.'

Includes tips, case studies and a tools directory (produced with help from the guys at Involve)