7 Lessons in Civic Tech

This quick article is meant to be an easy read. My intention is to normalize the "learn and lead as you go" process in the civic tech process. This article was written in February of 2021 and is from my lost files.

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Civic Tech is a technology process that enables greater participation in government or otherwise assists government in delivering citizen services and strengthening ties with the public (Wood 2016). Civic Tech enhances the relationship between government, civic leaders and the community and gives the community a voice in the technology adoption decision making process.

Over the past several years, I've immersed myself as a community volunteer with a goal of helping to make my city (Minneapolis) more transparent in its uses of technology. I became interested in this work in June of 2018 after learning various surveillance technologies were deployed in many cities including my own. Many Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled surveillance technologies were/are being developed, sold, procured and used without transparency.

My initial interest working with city officials and policymakers was to help unpack three critical questions. 1. How is the technology being developed (by the vendor)? 2. How/Why is it being procured by city governments? 3. Who within the city government is using the technology, why and how were they trained? These questions guided my work in trying to find solutions to help eliminate potential harms due to known issues in the development of some AI systems and the eventual use of AI enabled tools. I wanted to help solve this challenge by ensuring technology works to bring us together, helps us as a society thrive and not further divide us.

Here's what I learned.

1 - Education?

Education is key when introducing technology concerns to people working in government who are not technologists.?Finding the best way to educate and communicate your concerns is critical.?This includes writing, presenting and speaking so that each time you have the opportunity to share, you are most prepared.?As new decision makers and influencers enter the civic tech lifecycle, the education process should begin with an introduction.?An introduction to your civic tech goal should assume no one will know anything about what you are an expert in and you should present the basics.?

Keeping a timeline handy is a critical part of the education process.?Each time you meet a new influencer, a timeline should be used to show the work done thus far.?It is important to include what stakeholder concerns were gathered along the way and how they've been addressed. ?This helped when conversations were taking place without our coalition, we were building credibility.? Transparency helps to build bridges and education help to build consensus with stakeholders because they may not always be able to hear your goals and concerns at the same time.??

2 - Storytelling??

Storytelling is a powerful tool to use when advocating for your community. It's extremely effective.?Sharing stories of impacted communities across the globe and nationally is helpful.?Including what other cities, states or countries have done to solve similar challenges is helpful as well.?Then bring your stories closer to home.?Helping elected officials, appointees, boards and commissions understand how technology impacts ones way of life, their mental state, their ability to thrive and the cost to cities from lawsuits will demonstrate impacts to government.

3 - Observation

Observation is an undervalued soft skill.?When I was appointed to the Racial Equity Community Advisory Committee (RECAC), I had big dreams of moving an entire city toward the safe use of technology.?My goals were lofty.?However for an entire year I sat and watched and contributed to the RECAC priorities while building relationships, observing influencers and paying attention to which topics were emotional triggers for the community.?

I learned early on that pushing too hard would alienate me from the group and it would appear as if only my agenda was important.?I learned how to incorporate public oversight, accountability and equity considerations into the meetings.?I eventually asked for time on our agenda to share my interests without asking for anything in return.?I was taking the temperature of the group. I asked a lot of questions to get a feel for how others thought about the topics I was introducing.?

I was building trust and soon became the committee tech expert.?It didn’t matter that I entered the committee with over 20 years technology experience.?No one cared and I inherently knew leading with that could be a disaster.

4 - Coalitions

In March 2020 at the suggestion of one of the City of Minneapolis’ council members, I connected with a group of folks with similar interests.?We represented different organizations and wanted to bring transparent technology oversight to the City of Minneapolis.?We didn’t have a name for our group we just got to work.? From May of 2020 through February of 2021, we met just about every week.?

Prepare for forming, storming, norming and performing.?It takes time to trust each other’s insights and contributions.?Sometimes differences spilled over into meetings with city staff.?Many many many times you have to regroup and approach your goals differently. I’m fortunate we never lost sight of our goal. We made excellent strides with the city as we continued to volunteer our time to realize the goal of seeing technology used safely and transparently.?You can read about our work at the POSTME.MN (now Safety Not Surveillance (SNS)).

5 - Aim High

Aim high with as many items you can in your initial ask.?The process of negotiating with policymakers takes time and negotiations are a huge part of Civic Tech. We started with a litany of items we wanted to pursue and eventually settled on what was most important and could be most impactful for Minneapolis residents within a certain timeframe.

6 - Always listen to the voice of the community?

Build in mechanisms for constant feedback from the community.?Our coalition developed a website. Our POSTME.MN (now SNS) website was one way we informed the community of our intent, solicited feedback and offered options for the community to get involved. We have hosted town halls, presented at conferences and mobilized a team of volunteers.

Also keep your ear to the ground to learn of any particular challenges with your goals. Are other organizations doing similar work? We have been met with community members who were misinformed about our plans and goals. Do your best to seek out opportunities to hear their concerns and build partnerships if possible. Use these opportunities to reach more people and build allies.

7 - Give yourself grace

Approaching a Civic Tech project is personal.?You are involved in helping shape the quality of life for citizens who may or may not know you are working on their behalf. I needed to take this advice in August of 2020 when the city was faced with competing priorities and it appeared as if our progress would be stalled.?

I'm happy we took time to acknowledge how much we accomplished as a group in the short amount of time.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!!

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The POSTME coalition is now the SAFETY NOT SURVEILLANCE (SNS) COALITION. My current work and research is not affiliated with the SNS coalition.