Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #CivicTech

Most recents (24)

Just saw www--arc.com via @WeAreNew_Public -- oof so many ahistorical & media literacy discipline errors in this. This is why Postman warned us: “What changes in language are being enforced by new technologies, and what is being gained and lost by such changes?” 🧵
The Libertarian/anarcho capitalist bias of Silicon Valley to redefine privatized space as #publicspace is a threat to publicness, commons, democracy etc. It seems often unquestioned as so many lose contact with actual public spaces in cities. A trance in neo-feudalist simulacra.
This change in language to make virtual extended simulations of place experience be equivalent or reified over embodied real community places, is also core to anarcho-capitialism's anti-democratic eco-fascist worldviews.
Read 18 tweets
For the last 4 years @cydharrell and I've led a tech + design team within California's Judiciary charged with improving the court experience for the state's most vulnerable users. I wrote a bit about why #civictech should care more about courts link.medium.com/D77ZiIvJfsb
For the first time ever, the court system is hiring for a full time role to oversee all their digital services. It's an incredible opportunity to improve access to justice for millions navigating the largest court system in the country. Apply by 8/15! bit.ly/3Q7jlx6
So I decided to write a public version of my transition document with a lot of what I wish we knew on day 1. Designing digital services for the courts is same, same but different link.medium.com/SM6mdhsJfsb
Read 6 tweets
Zu der von dir, @herr_ole, angestoßenen #opendata-Debatte, mal ein paar lose Gedanken. (cc @_stk @gemuellert @dvidwgner)
Es ist nämlich meiner Meinung nach viel komplizierter, aber auch auch viel einfacher (🤔) - zumindest für #Komunen . Also (Thread) ....
Die #opendata-Idee ist: Daten, die die Verwaltung für eigene Zwecke oder durch eigens Tun erhebt, sollen anderen offen (die Grundsätze sind euch bekannt) zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Offene Daten sind also quasi ein Abfallprodukt.
Aus Sicht potenzieller Nutzender sind diese Daten oft Abfall, weil Struktur, Formate, Umfang, Aktualität und Art der Bereitstellung unbefriedigend sind. Interne und externe Ansprüche weichen also voneinander ab, was ein großes Problem ist.
Read 20 tweets
Hard to believe it’s been more than 12 years since @pahlkadot founded @codeforamerica: radar.oreilly.com/2010/05/code-f… I’m excited to learn about what @AmandaRenteria & team do next.

If you’re going to be at #CFASummit tomorrow & want to talk about #civictech & #opengov, pls reach out.
“We are designing for our shared humanity, in a world that sometimes feels like we’ve lost sight of it”-@AmandaRenteria:
Meet people where they are.
Understand their experiences,
Gove public servants what they need to service the public.
🇺🇸
#cfasummit #civictech
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” ~President Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 1945, as quoted by @AmandaRenteria.
fdrlibrary.org/fdr

#cfasummit #civictech
Read 8 tweets
Today's meeting virtual public Meeting for the US Open Government National Action Plan has begun. @philipashlock kicked off. He notes is the first #OpenGov meeting in many years. (True!) Justin Vail says @WhiteHouse is excited to re-engage on @opengovpart & #opengov more broadly ImageImage
"Open government is a priority of the Biden-Harris administration," says Justin Vail, who says the work to rebuild an opengov community in US government is underway & continuing, & that a "year of action" will follow the #SummitForDemocracy & #OGPSummit, including 5th NAP for OGP
Vail acknowledges that it's been "years" since a @WhiteHouse met with US civil society groups around @opengovpart.

That's true – as is the fact that the Biden-Harris administration has neglected re-engagement in 2021 until weeks before the #OGPSummit. e-pluribusunum.org/2021/11/04/the… Image
Read 15 tweets
Erster Eindruck: Ampel hat keinen Bock auf #Urheberrecht. Nur Evaluierung, keine Gesetzesvorhaben im #Koalitionsvertrag, dabei bräuchten wir die dringend, zB beim #Zensurheberrecht. Ob Bibliotheken E-Books künftig wie physische Bücher verleihen dürfen, bleibt unklar. #BuchistBuch Image
Etwas besser ist der Abschnitt zu Forschung, wissenschaftsfreundliches #Urheberrecht klingt gut, aber es fehlen Details. Ich würde mir da zB wünschen: Ausweitung des Zweitveröffentlichungsrechts für Urheber*innen aller wissenschaftl Publikationen, unabhängig vom Finanzierungsweg! Image
Der medienpolitische Teil zu #DSA/#DMA liest sich schlimmstenfalls als Unterstützung der Idee, dass Plattformen nicht nur #Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseartikel zahlen sollen, sondern auch gezwungen werden, diese anzuzeigen. Das behindert Vorgehen gegen Desinformation! #LSR Image
Read 8 tweets
Taiwan is the world's best experiment in participatory democracy, says @piawaugh.

They're changing the approach to encourage people to co-create approaches to wicked problems.

The notion, she says, is that government is *part( of society, not separate from it.

#FWD50
@piawaugh My mistake: @piacandrews.
She's talking now at #FWD50 about a wicked problem for governments everywhere: how to provide trustworthy public services & info, both of which are mission-critical in war, peace, pandemic, & disasters.

High veracity:
veracity.wgtn.ac.nz
"Rather than asking for trust, you need to start being trustworthy"– @PiaCAndrews

One way to do that for digital government services is to use open source code, with audits to ensure algorithmic accessibility & "explainability."
wossat.nz/archive/2021-0…

#FWD50
Read 8 tweets
Today is International Parliamentarism Day:
un.org/en/observances…
I'm not sure what Congress is doing, but I'm going to log on shortly for a conversation at 12 PM ET with @MarceloRamos & others.

You can watch the debate online: mailchi.mp/bussola-tech/p… #OpenGov #CivicTech
@MarceloRamos 9+ years since I spoke about #edem #civictech & #opengov in Brazil's Congress with @Participatory @agm3dc @felipeestefan:


Somewhat ironically, I can't find the archived video, but my photo with @DeputadoFederal endures on Twitter:
@MarceloRamos @participatory @agm3dc @FelipeEstefan @DeputadoFederal I see I tagged the wrong account: it's @MarceloRamosAM. (He should be @verified, @TwitterGov.)
Listening to @elaforde, who emphasized how crucial online access is to digital democracy.
Per @StatistaCharts, Internet penetration is 68% in 2021.
Brazil needs to bend the curve up.
Read 6 tweets
How to manage a civic tech project at a governmental organization, from the procurement stage to launching the product? Here, I'll explain what I've learned from managing one of the most visible and fast-paced projects at the State of California. Ideas are mine not my employer's
1. Contract requirements: Don’t add tons of requirements. Focus on the ones that bring value. You may get criticized for not adding too many detailed requirements. But, you need to face criticism, otherwise, you'll spend a lot of time figuring out how to meet those requirements.
2. Procurement: If you are asking for POC (Proof of Concept), make the process simple and short. Focus more on learning about the vendor’s team and how they interact and respond.
Read 23 tweets
Lecturas #SemanaSanta: En 2021 se cumplen 10 años desde el lanzamiento de la Alianza para el #GobiernoAbierto. Para celebrar comparto diversas publicaciones que he realizado en el tema (en orden cronológico y en acceso abierto), incluso desde antes que se creará OGP. Abro hilo!
1. Innovación en la Gestión Pública y Open Government (Gobierno Abierto): Una vieja nueva idea.. [2010] bit.ly/OpenGovViejaNu…
#OpenGov #GobiernoAbierto #InnovaciónPública #EstadoAbierto #SmartGov #Gobernanza
2. Gobierno abierto y modernización de la gestión pública. Tendencias actuales y el (inevitable) camino que viene. Reflexiones seminales [2011]
bit.ly/OpenGovMejoraG…
#OpenGov #GobiernoAbierto #InnovaciónPública #EstadoAbierto #SmartGov #Gobernanza
Read 31 tweets
I spent 8 years as a civil servant in the U.S. federal government including helping to stand up and support tech teams such as @18F, @USDS, @PIFgov. A short thread on how we can better support tech careers in the federal government... 1/
Agencies are thinking differently about how they buy, build, and implement tech tools - which starts and ends with civil servants. But gov still hires civil servants for tech jobs of 20 years ago vs for the skills of today (the IT jobs classification was last updated in 2001) 2/
Or, gov hires techies for short-term “tours of duty” into short-term appointments. Some people want this - that’s great! But others want set up for careers - for them, not so great! 3/
Read 11 tweets
TONIGHT 5:30pm: I am observing the #SanFrancisco #Police Commission for @lwvsf on this thread. 📢Big Change to the agenda: PUBLIC COMMENT will now open the meeting! How to join: sfgov.org/policecommissi… Round image. Top two thirds red. Bottom two thirds white. Lo
The meeting hasn’t started yet, but it looks like all are present in Webex: President @MaliaCohen, VP Cindy Elias, @DJYBG, @HamasakiLaw, Petra Dejesus. Also present are @SFPDChief Scott & @SF_DPA Department of Police Accountability Executive Director @PaulHendersonSF.
While we’re waiting, here’s the agenda: sfgov.org/policecommissi… and the supporting documents: sfgov.org/policecommissi….
Read 80 tweets
@MIT @grassrootza Thanks @MIT for sharing!

TL:DR? Thread!

1/ The @grassrootza pilot occurred before the coronavirus outbreak. Yet results from @mitgovlab show how #WhatsApp can be effective for organizers to move training + people development online when face-to-face interaction isn’t possible Image
@MIT @grassrootza @MIT_SHASS @azomer @MITPoliSci @AmandlaMobi @Kmoeti @MobilisationLab @CivicTechAfrica @mySociety @MITxonedX 2 / Piloted over five classes, the course reached more than 40 distance learners in #SouthAfrica, largely in urban and peri-urban areas near Johannesburg and Durban. What did the research show?

#civictech #elearning #governance #research #PoliSci #socialmedia4good Image
@MIT @grassrootza @MIT_SHASS @azomer @MITPoliSci @AmandlaMobi @Kmoeti @MobilisationLab @CivicTechAfrica @mySociety @MITxonedX 3 / For a deeper dive into the research results, check out this brief by @mitgovlab + @grassrootza on what they learned designing & implementing an online training course for community organizers entirely over #WhatsApp.
mitgovlab.org/results/a-nove… #research #engagedscholarship @MIT
Read 8 tweets
Florida fired its data scientist after she refused to juke the stats to support reopening. Now, @GeoRebekah maintains her own dashboard washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06… as #covid19 cases rise: covidactnow.org/us/
Sources: @CovidActNow @nytimes @COVID19Tracking CovidExitStrategy.org ImageImageImage
This week, @GeoRebekah wrote about a high-risk Florida teen who died from #covid19 after attending a church “party” & then being given hydroxychloroquine by her parents washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07…
Her mom was anti-vaccine & a QAnon conspiracist. Lies can kill.
ImageImageImage
To make it clearer, the Florida #Covid19 dashboard @GeoRebekah made & maintains is here:
floridacovidaction.com

CovidActNow.org was made & maintained by a team of technologists, academics, & doctors. ImageImageImage
Read 8 tweets
Love when you learn a helpful tip before an event even begins. To make Zoom calls more inclusive for #TGNC folks, you can add pronouns to your Display Name
1. Hover over your own video (or name)
2. Select the ellipsis (…)
3. Select “rename” & type pronouns after your name

#TDOV
Good freaking question: "Why do we continue to make people go through harmful user journeys?"

@maxmasure describes the complicated & cruel procedure to change their name. The family certificates & husband permission...shocking

#TDOV #InclusiveDesign #CivicTech #SocialImpact 1. French name 2. DMV 3. TLDEF 4. US lawyer 5. Request (ex) Evidence required in France for request to change name: 1. c
@jessi_mons and @MadelenaMak advocate for #userresearch to focus less on demographics & more on what people do and who they are. Gender isn't always relevant and methods should reflect that

#TDOV #TDOV2020 #TransVisibilityDay #InclusiveDesign #CivicTech #SocialImpact
Read 4 tweets
A session on Governance, Technology & the evolution of civic responsibility at the #SMWLagos2020 moderated by @Bolarinwaiyanu

"How much has technology helped to improve participation in governance"?

#GovTech
#CivicTech Image
Platforms like @TrackaNG, @Connected_dev, @CivicHive have brought more participation from people all over Nigerian in governance!

#GovTech
#CivicTech Image
We can't underestimate the power of technological tools and the influence they have in governance in Nigeria.

We have to keep improving and make sure we scale to the underserved in Nigeria to give them a voice to participate.

#GovTech
#CivicTech Image
Read 3 tweets
1/ Today (JULY 31, 2019) is the Public-Feedback DEADLINE for the first-round of @_CreateTO Consultations on the Four (4) #HousingNow "PRIORITY" #AffordableHousing sites at WARDEN, WILSON, MERTON & VICTORIA PARK in #TOPoli...

LINK - createto.ca/housingnow/eve…
@_CreateTO @TORHousing @CityPlanTO 2/ In 2018, Mayor @JohnTory announced his #HousingNow plan to build "40,000 new affordable housing units over the next 12 years" - and our @HousingNowTO volunteers started "Running the Numbers" on each of those #AffordableHousing sites from @_CreateTO...

cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
@_CreateTO @TORHousing @CityPlanTO @JohnTory 3/ In January 2019, we launched our Free, Public, Interactive MAP to allow anyone to "visit" the Eleven (11) proposed #HousingNow sites for new #AffordableHousing development-proposals by @_CreateTO. In Seven (7) months - we have had over 19,000+ Views...

HousingNowTO.com
Read 10 tweets
I’m back at the @uscapitol, this time for a Congressional Transparency Caucus event on tools for Congressional staff: transparencycaucus.info/2019/05/21/sav… Impressive line up of speakers & organizations. Thanks to @RepMikeQuigley for hosting & championing #opengov! #CivicTech
First up: Michael Horowitz, the inspector general (@JusticeOIG) of @TheJusticeDept, talking about oversight.gov, which brings together IG reports from across US government. @OversightGov tweets out every new report when it’s posted. Goal: inform the public! #opengov
1 million hits/year for @OversightGov, Horowitz says. Enhancements are planned. Public will see thousands of recommendations that have not been implemented & would result in cost savings, he explains, & a IG vacancies dashboard. Cc @POGOBlog pogo.org/database/inspe… #opengov
Read 20 tweets
Top Ten Rules of Technology for Social Change: A Thread.
The 140 character version of what I'm learning and teaching
about technology for development and social justice.

#ict4d #tech4dev #ict4dev #civictech
1. Technology is not inherently good or bad; nor is it neutral
(Melvin Kranzberg 1985).
2. Technology is inherently political (@langdonw 1986). Technologies are compatible with certain political configurations and relationships.
Read 12 tweets
Follow me on a little recap of my time at @nycplanning over the last 3 years. I was recruited after @arielmai introduced me to @fuchsnyc . He was building a progressive, data-savvy team focused on analyzing and influencing NYC’s Capital Budget. 1/
@NYCPlanning @arielmai @fuchsnyc The team had been assembling new data products and cleaning up old ones, and the missing piece of the puzzle was a digital platform to make the data more accessible. The simplified dream: see all of NYC’s capital projects on a map instead of parsing through 4000 pages of PDFs. 2/
@NYCPlanning @arielmai @fuchsnyc I like to describe @fuchsnyc as having a clear-as-day vision in his head for what this product could do, but didn’t like his options. (1. Figure out how to get it built in-house in the agency’s IT team. 2. Find money and hire a vendor to build it) /3
Read 46 tweets
Há algum tempo atrás baixei um PDF com a lista de beneficiados pela Lei da Anistia. Hoje fui procurá-lo na página do @JusticaGovBR e *o arquivo não está mais disponível*, daí comecei uma investigação, segue o fio. #opendata #DitaduraNaoSeComemora
A URL original era: justica.gov.br/seus-direitos/… (dá pra encontrá-lo pelo Google, mas a versão em cache não está mais disponível).
Parece que o primeiro arquivo foi liberado em jan2015 (notícia: cgu.gov.br/noticias/2015/…), mas depois existiram outros.
Buscando um pouco mais encontrei um outro arquivo, de 2018, mas também não acessível (sou redirecionado para uma página de autenticação): justica.gov.br/seus-direitos/…
Read 14 tweets
Gather round, children, as I share a timeless tale of fundamentally broken #GovTech:

At the end of 2018, before I started my new job, my fiance explored the possibility of applying for Medicaid until we found a private insurance option that would let her see her doctors. (1/n)
Like many states, Illinois's digital infrastructure for public benefits case management leaves a lot to be desired. So even after we found private insurance, which meant that all we had to do was withdraw her case in their system, I knew I had to set significant time aside. (2/n)
We received a letter containing instructions to access the system. But when we went to the site, the path outlined in those instructions didn't match what was there. Account creation is easy enough to interpret for us, but what about for somebody with low digital literacy? (3/n)
Read 16 tweets
Today we release 'Poisoning Democracy: How Canada Can Address Harmful Speech Online' by @cjtenove, @heiditworek and @mckelveyf offering 3 solutions to online hate, harassment and threats.

Read the report - ppforum.ca/publications/p…

#cdnmedia #cdnpoli #harmfulspeech
The speed, scale & global reach of harmful speech online cannot be addressed by current regulatory approaches. And this speech, in its many forms, undermines the quality of democratic participation.

It excludes vulnerable people from politics and encourages social tension. 🤬
So what can we do? Let’s walk through the 3 recommendations in this report:

#1 calls for greater cooperation between Canadian gov, police, civil society & online companies. We already moderate social media & enforce community standards. We can respond better if respond together.
Read 7 tweets
So much to say about this bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Reid Hoffman, Jeff Katzenberg, Fred Wilson and Sunil Paul threw good money at this.
And because it was Pincus and Hoffman’s thing, it sucked oxygen from other folks.
Read 9 tweets

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