People just want to get stuff done. And with as few hurdles as possible. Sometimes intermediaries can assist in the process – that’s what the concept of a value chain is all about, i.e. the sequence of steps between creators and consumers, between organizations and citizens, that exist because they refine and improve products and services along way. That's the idea, anyway. Think of the journey a coffee bean harvested in Ethiopia takes to become the half caff tall skim latte at your neighbourhood Starbucks and you’ll have the beginnings of a mental model of a value chain. In such a case there are undeniable value adds along the way, though whether or not the end product is 'worth' the $4 you pay for it is a debate best left to branding experts. Or these everyday citizens. But I digress.
This blog has focused on the changing faces and shapes of intermediaries in the creative industries, but today we’re going to look at an area known as civic tech, a way for interested individuals and community groups to enter the value chain of government and governance, using the self-organizing tools and techniques of peer-to-peer networking, crowdfunding, and co-creation.
I first learned of the field while living in Boston, by way of the MIT Center for Civic Media , and thanks to the civic tech involvement of a friend in Toronto ended up at an event hosted by the local Civic Tech group.
What I learned at this event is that while many of us spend our evenings with, I don’t know, laundry, yoga, or Netflix, there’s a group of laptop-toting individuals out there who get together each week to put their coding and design skills to work to address such civic issues as affordable housing, resource sharing, and getting out the vote. And they do it all on a volunteer basis. If you want to see the wheels of disintermediation in motion, this is a great place to start.
One of the projects discussed at last week’s Civic Tech meetup was based on SeeClickFix, a website and app that lets anyone report civic concerns – whether they’re abandoned mattresses, potholes, or even roadkill -- and also offers tools through with third party developers can build on top of the site's core functionality.
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| Civic complaints made easier at www.seeclickfix.com |
If you don’t believe me, just go to the home page at www.seeclickfix.com and enter your city’s name and see what’s going on around you. Some municipalities have some pretty brisk blotters going on while others have just a handful of ancient complaints.
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| Street light bird nest issue recently resolved in NYC, taken from SeeClickFix.com |
But the larger point is that anyone can post, thereby opening a ticket, and a combination of community members and civic officials comment and then follow up. As posts build up so does a picture of the neighbourhood, from the ground up. This is a key feature of the majority of civic tech projects: the collective corralling of community intelligence that also creates an asset for better governance and improved communication.
Note that also built into the system is a points mechanism, whereby frequent civic watchers can collect points for their interactions, becoming a digital Jane Jacobs at the 10,000 point level.
Note that also built into the system is a points mechanism, whereby frequent civic watchers can collect points for their interactions, becoming a digital Jane Jacobs at the 10,000 point level.
