Cash Transfers and/or Participatory Budgeting Against Inequality?
Earlier this month Senegal discovered another 1.5 billion barrels of oil off its coast. Will the revenue reduce Senegal’s poverty or increase the cost of luxury condos in Montreal?
The Distasteful Paternalism of Civic Tech
We’d prefer civic pride over civic tech. But, in the meantime, surveilling our public service providers may be worth the tradeoff.
OpenGov Conversations: Alix Dunn & Julia Keseru of the Engine Room
The Hewlett Foundation has funded the Engine Room since 2014 for its Matchbox program, which provides partner organizations with support to use data and technology strategically and responsibly in pursuit of their goals. In this second OpenGov Conversation, I speak with the Engine Room’s co-founder, Alix Dunn, and Matchbox program director Julia Keseru.
OpenGov Conversations: Mark Cridge, CEO of mySociety
So much of civic technology, and indeed technology solutions in general, is built on faith rather than proof. As the sector has matured, expectations for success and pressure to deliver results has rightly become more intense.
Her Versus The Square: Tropes of Liberation Technology
Her, Spike Jonze’s latest and most philosophical feature film, and The Square, an Oscar-nominated documentary that depicts the ongoing Egyptian Revolution, each illustrate popular portrayals of how technology will liberate us.
