DECODE: Powering civic good with a blockchain
We’ll be exhibiting with DECODE at the EU’s ICT Imagine Conference and Exhibition in Vienna from the 4th-6th December 2018. Find out more on the ICT 2018 Imagine Digital website.
The idea that sparked Chainspace was conceived two years ago as an exploratory exercise between friends. Can we solve the inherent limitations presented by existing blockchain technologies? We felt strongly that we could and using our networks and connections, invested in the academic research and prototyping that enabled us to validate and verify the solutions we brought to the table.
During this initial period of research incubation, we were invited to collaborate with an EU funded initiative as part of the DECODE project. DECODE provides tools that puts individuals in control of whether they keep their personal data private or share it for the public good. A fantastic initiative led by a pioneering and visionary team, it provided us with a great use-case for the design of Chainspace. Demonstrating not just the technical utility, but the real world value that comes from using a blockchain technology.
Along with the DECODE partner organisations, global software consultancy ThoughtWorks prototyped a number of solutions that use the Chainspace design to deliver decentralised civic services, including a citizen-run “FairBnB” and cryptographically secure petitions platform for e-democracy. This year, DECODE will launch a pilot project for petitions in Barcelona, with more pilot projects to come next year.
We are extremely proud of the vision that drives DECODE, it allows us to really consider the kinds of problems blockchain technology can contribute to solving and it challenges us to push hard for value.
You can find out more about DECODE, its pilots and research work via their website. Alongside this, the project runs a series of symposiums, hackathons and a summer school focused on issues relating to privacy and the intersection between automation, AI and data.
We will be exhibiting with DECODE at the ICT Imagine Digital conference in Vienna from the 4th — 6th December 2018. If you’re going, please come by to say hi.
