Exploring civic technology to empower communities.
I’m interested in the the use of civic technology to support new interactions in our communities and finding new ways for citizens to be involved in or take action on decisions that impact their lives. I’ve been involved in a range of projects to explore the design and use of technology in civic settings and I am interested in citizens co-designing civic tech. I take a critical view to ensure approaches are not solutionist and I want to further explore how technology can disrupt and renew existing models of service delivery and democracy.
Past Projects
Participatory Media
I worked with three neighbourhood planning groups to explore how we could use participatory media to support the process. I delivered eight workshops developing a storyboard and, exploring and filming the local neighbourhood. Groups captured over 380 short video clips to help show the issues in their local area.
Social Justice in HCI
Co-facilitated ‘Exploring Social Justice in Connect Communities’ to support the building of an international community of researchers, practitioners and organisers in tech design and social justice. The hands-on design workshop looked at local issues through a social justice lens and participants produced a zine to showcase the work of the session.
Bootlegger and Metro Future
I supported colleagues in the delivery of interactive workshops with Metro users which aimed to consult on the design of the next generation Metro trains. Using a participatory media tool, users were able to record and share their experiences through a website where others could vote and comment.
Co-Designing Tech Engagement
I delivered co-design workshops with neighbourhood planners, planning officers and councillors to develop new engagement methods using civic technology. We explored current engagement practices and, responding to design challenges, designed ways to engage communities through social media, games and more.
Policymaking and HCI
Through my work with neighbourhood planning groups, I explored how HCI could be more actively involved in supporting, innovating and (re)designing policy processes. We also showed the need to to design tools embedded within policy enabling citizen voices to carry through to decision-making in a real way.
Participatory Media Storytelling
As part of my PhD, I explored how participatory media could be used to capture citizens’ stories to inform democratic processes. The media allowed citizens to record their thoughts in place, capturing rich material and situated thoughts.
Jennifer Manuel 