Research

Evaluating civic technologies for local political engagement

Can digital technologies make local government more engaging and inclusive?

Civic technologies are those tools and platforms that can, for example, provide information about community initiatives or allow citizens to raise local issues with councillors. Do they enhance public inclusion? And to what extent is this dependent on their design and meaningful integration within a system of representative institutions, community organisations, advocacy groups and research organisations?

This project will produce empirical evidence to help policymakers and civic groups design and promote specific interventions. It will include a large-scale survey experiment with UK adults to test how civic technology design features impact their sense of belonging in the local community. 

There will also be a follow-up community study in a local library to learn more from people’s interactions with these technologies, including those who are less likely to be online.

The project has a significant industry and community partnership element. Working with mySociety (e.g. FixMyStreet) and a local library venue, the team will develop the research together, to ensure that the research design and the outputs are relevant and usable.

Team members

Dr Laszlo Horvath, Lecturer in Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London

Dr Ben Worthy, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London

Alex Parsons, Democracy Programme Lead, Senior Researcher, mySociety

Professor Katharine Tyler, Professor in Anthropology, University of Exeter

Professor Susan Banducci, Professor in Politics, University of Exeter