The use of civic technology or Civic Tech is improving civic engagement and public participation in decision making processes from local to national levels and the development and delivery of new co-created strategies and policies. This implies numerous changes in the relationships between the citizens and public institutions, by reinvigorating democratic processes and encouraging citizens to actively participate in various forms of democratic engagement.
Civic Tech encompasses new and emerging ICTs, tools and processes that enable greater citizen and / or community participation in a free and democratic society. The CIVITEC project aims to improve policies for making democracy more participatory, inclusive and responsive using new and emerging ICTs, tools and processes (Civic Tech) allied to open and inclusive participatory processes. Examples of such tools include online petitions, open data portals, citizen evaluation and monitoring platforms, and participatory budgeting systems, where citizens collectively discuss community needs and priorities and then allocate public funds accordingly.
To enhance citizen participation and better integrate them into decision making processes, our project will reinforce the transparency, accountability, and capacity of local government through participatory processes that involve the targeted of Civic Tech as well as improvements in the strategies and process methodologies. To reach this objective, CIVITEC will organise the learning process both at regional and interregional levels. On one side, from the start of the project, partners will form their stakeholder groups and meet their stakeholders at least once per semester throughout the project lifetime.
On the other side, at interregional level, partners will first engage in a step-by-step process to improve their understanding of the scope and range of citizen engagement and participatory democracy initiatives through good practice exchange and adaptation and an analysis of how Civic Tech is being used and could further enhance these processes. In addition, through a series of practical exercises and simulation sessions, partners, their stakeholders and, later on, larger citizen groups will undertake real-life participatory workshops as part of local processes that will enable partners and their stakeholders to directly engage in and learn from processes and the use of Civic Tech.
Stay tuned!