The use of civic technology or Civic Tech is improving civic engagement and public participation in decision making processes from local to national levels and the development and delivery of new co-created strategies and policies. This implies numerous changes in the relationships between the citizens and public institutions, by reinvigorating democratic processes and encouraging citizens to actively participate in various forms of democratic engagement.
Civic Tech encompasses new and emerging ICTs, tools and processes that enable greater citizen/community participation in a free and democratic society. The main types of civic technology addressed by the project falls under the following categories:
1) citizen to citizen (C2C): tech improving citizen mobilisation or connections between citizens
2) citizen to government (C2G): tech improving the frequency and quality of interactions between the citizens and public institutions.
In line with the objective ‘better governance’, CIVITEC aims to improve policies for making democracy more participatory, inclusive and responsive using new and emerging ICTs, tools and processes (Civic Tech) allied to open and inclusive participatory processes. Examples of such tools include online petitions, open data portals, citizen evaluation & monitoring platforms, and participatory budgeting systems, where citizens collectively discuss community needs and priorities and then allocate public funds accordingly.
To enhance citizen participation and better integrate them into decision making processes, CIVITEC will pursue the following sub-objectives:
a) Reinforcing the transparency, accountability, and capacity of local government through participatory processes.
b) Increasing citizen and stakeholder participation in decision making and policy implementation processes.