By Sheetal Agarwal
Republished content with permission from NTEN.org.
Listen, Listen, Listen
A guide to developing community-based technology
“If you build it, they will come” is a frequently quoted but also frequently misguided philosophy for the design and development of technology and software. This approach puts the developer or organization creating the product in front of the needs and desires of the community and intended users. As organizations look to increase engagement with communities they often think technology is the answer, and many move quickly to choosing a platform. In the nonprofit sector often, the result is wasted resources in an already resource-scarce environment, and, worse, the creation of a product that few use.
How do you avoid creating a tool that ends up in the internet graveyard of good intentions? My participatory research on the process of technology development by and for communities revealed a principle that I want to shout from the mountain tops: Voice matters. The community of intended users, the developers, and the leadership are all stakeholders that contribute to the success of the tool, and a listening strategy to account for these voices has to be incorporated from the beginning. We must listen first, and ask, what matters most to the community we want to use this tool? In doing so we account for their values and needs, clearing the way to make informed technology and design choices. A tool is more likely to be adopted if it reflects the values of and meets the needs of a user. Listening to and accounting for different stakeholder voices early on makes all the difference.
To illustrate why voice matters and what putting a community listening strategy into practice looks like, I’ll use my most recent engagement with the Agora Journalism Center and Journalism that Matters. The two organizations put on a conference, Experience Engagement, in October to bring together journalists, civic leaders, and citizens who share interests and a commitment to community engagement. The leadership behind the conference wanted to build a tool to support and sustain the community beyond the conference.
In advance of the conference…
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