Governance in a changing world: the role of civic technology in DFID’s vision for growth, stability and inclusive development
It’s been a couple of months since DFID released its Governance for Growth, Stability, and Inclusive Development position paper, and having had a chance to read through it and digest its contents we thought it would be useful to share its implications for our own work at mySociety. As DFID is one of the key funders of global governance work, it’s reassuring to see them affirm their commitment to playing a leading role in support for open, inclusive and accountable governance. It’s also great to see a donor communicating transparently about its thinking and planning.
mySociety aims to enable people everywhere to become informed, engaged and active citizens, confident and equipped to fully participate in governance at all levels — and the key ways in which we do this are through on the ground research and the development and popularisation of digital tools. Unsurprisingly, therefore, we’re pleased to read that DFID recognises the significant opportunities provided by digital technologies in the governance space.
The proven value of digital tools for participation
Digital tools have been shown to be effective in increasing participation levels amongst the general population — our research has demonstrated that they can minimise barriers to citizen engagement through reducing ‘transaction costs’ (reducing the time and cost of acquiring information and communicating with institutions), and through simplifying and demystifying processes (tailoring digital services to citizen needs, rather than services being embedded in institutional structures and language). The ‘youth bulge’ in many countries in the global South is translating into a push for improved transparency and greater digital interaction with government.
Whether it be providing easy access to information, such as through TheyWorkForYou or WhatDoTheyKnow, or providing simple portals to communicate with officials, such as WriteToThem and FixMyStreet, mySociety’s work not only facilitates the ability of citizens and civil society to benefit from open governance, but enables meaningful engagement in those processes to effectively hold government to account.
mySociety is one of the few organisations investing in understanding how digital technologies — and data systems more broadly — can be designed, implemented and maintained in order to achieve maximum impact and have the best chance of sustainability, including in environments affected by instability and a scarcity of resource. Our recent Parliament and the People research includes a number of recommendations for what funders, policymakers and civic tech organisations need to consider when approaching the development of new digital interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ensuring digital tools are fit for purpose
Significant funding for the development of digital tools and platforms has been funnelled into projects in sub-Saharan Africa over the last ten years, primarily via the international development and philanthropic community seeking to improve outcomes at scale and through low-cost means. A number of apps, websites and digital platforms such as Ushahidi, MapKibera, and ForestLink have been developed over the last ten years specifically to address barriers and challenges faced by citizens in sub-Saharan countries.
Many other digital tools have, however, proved unsustainable or unfit for purpose. Projects that had attracted high levels of funding, for instance the USEDATA project funded by UK aid and implemented by Montrose, found themselves floundering; expensive apps went unused by their target user groups, and flashy websites quickly went out of date. The underlying problem was that tech was assumed to be completely transplantable and scalable across very different countries, with no regard for the cultural assumptions that unknowingly went into building it, or the cultural traditions, socio-political contexts and data environments into which it was being implemented.
Another risk posed by digital technologies, and highlighted by DFID in their paper, is that offline inequalities are replicated and sometimes heightened online. Our research on Who Benefits from Civic Tech — one of the first comparative studies ever conducted into the demographic divides of civic tech usage around the world — found that tech can amplify the loudest, most established or most numerous citizen voices, at the expense of more marginalised or minority groups. While we’re far from solving this issue, we’re working to identify ways to ensure that digital tools enable the effective participation of minority and marginalised groups, and to reduce the likelihood of digital solutions being ‘captured’.
Given these all-too-common pitfalls, it’s great to see DFID commit to continuing its support for governance research programmes, which we hope will encompass research on the links between digital technologies, institutional change and development outcomes.
Healthy information ecosystems
A disturbing trend identified by DFID is the closing down of spaces for democratic public debate, independent media and civil society — reflected in the ‘capturing’ of information environments. Our Parliament and the People research also showed that, in a number of sub-Saharan African countries, those in government have restricted information flows to protect their own power — but it also highlighted how digital technologies may help to circumvent those restrictions.
In this context, it’s encouraging to see DFID looking to support the development of ‘healthy information ecosystems’, including promoting transparency and independent media. The right of access to information, or Freedom of Information (FOI), is an important prerequisite for accountability and transparency, and a key indicator of a healthy and open democracy. Our Freedom of Information software, Alaveteli, makes it easy for citizens to request information from any public authority in the country, which in turn is published in a public archive (often the only place where that information is available). Alaveteli-powered FOI services are now running in 26 jurisdictions around the world — including the newest service, TuNa Bakonzi, launched in March 2019 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Alaveteli services are an important tool for journalists to uncover hidden information, and may help in reducing corruption by, for example, making the contracts between authorities and suppliers public.
Scope for partnership
DFID’s aspiration to work with a broader variety of organisations is particularly welcome to us here at mySociety. As a small but expert organisation with experience working collaboratively with governments, INGOs, private companies and partners in the global South, we see significant scope for the work that we and others like us do to be scaled up in partnership with organisations with the global reach and leadership of DFID.
Of course, any approaches and solutions must be grounded in local priorities and led by local organisations wherever possible, as DFID rightly emphasises. As mentioned previously, we know from our research and experience that digital democracy solutions that are designed to respond to local needs and contexts are more likely to be successful and long-lived. The online parliamentary monitoring platforms that we’ve built with local civil society partners in sub-Saharan Africa — including Mzalendo in Kenya, People’s Assembly in South Africa, and ShineYourEye in Nigeria — are each adapted to their unique parliamentary systems, and have become well-used by citizens and civil society to keep an eye on the people in power.
Finally, it’s worth emphasising that while mySociety believes that civic technology has a role to play in building more open societies — and has identified ways in which its civic technologies can support the achievement of the SDGs — we certainly don’t advocate the building of tech for tech’s sake. After working in this field for over 15 years, we recognise that technologies must be coupled with offline strategies, capacity building and process improvements, in order to help communities learn to engage with government, and to help government learn to use technology effectively.
With the right tools, informed by meaningful research, civic technology can bring useful insights and practical solutions to DFID’s vision of open, accountable and inclusive governance. The challenges ahead are inarguably substantial, but equally, we may already have the tools at our fingertips to help bring that vision of a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable world into being.
