[open-government] Online political engagement: the first step to better citizenship?

Tue Jan 6 10:51:10 UTC 2015

Apologies if you see this cross-posted! Today, we're announcing research on
the impact of civic tech, commissioned by mySociety and conducted by
researchers at the University of Manchester, thanks to funding from the
ESRC.

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What impact does civic tech have on the people who use it? Can it be a
gateway to more social and political engagement?

Thanks to funding from the ESRC, mySociety has been able to partner with
researchers at the University of Manchester to look more deeply at the
impact of their UK sites. The research is now available and can be
downloaded here <https://www.mysociety.org/files/2014/12/manchester.pdf>
[PDF].

mySociety sites enable users to take small but empowering actions, such as
writing to their representatives, reporting street issues in their local
communities, or checking what their MP has said in Parliament.

This research asks who is using mySociety sites and how use of those sites
affects people’s levels of subsequent political and civic or community
activities.

Are people feeling empowered as a result of using them? Are they more
likely to participate in voluntary work, join a community group, or engage
in local and national politics as a result of using the resources afforded
by a range of mySociety platforms?

The findings show that mySociety are delivering practical ‘results’ for
users in terms of helping them to resolve their problems. However, it also
raises important questions about the diversity of mySociety’s users, and
whether or not the tools impact on users’ sense of ‘community efficacy’.

To deliver this research, the University of Manchester’s Rachel Gibson,
Marta Cantijoch and Silvia Galandini used methods previously unseen in the
field of civic tech. The result is an in-depth study which we hope will be
of interest to anyone trying to understand more about the uses and impacts
of civic technology tools.

Download the report here
<https://www.mysociety.org/files/2014/12/manchester.pdf> [PDF].

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All the best,

Myf Nixon
Marketing and Communications Manager
mySociety

mySociety blog <http://www.mysociety.org/blog/>
Follow mySociety on Twitter <https://twitter.com/mysociety>
Like mySociety on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/mySociety>
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