On April 3, Columbia World Projects (CWP) hosted a virtual conference on civic technology, bringing together city officials, faculty members and key actors in city government, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector for an online meeting to explore how technology can connect citizens with city government.
 
The meeting — which was originally scheduled to take place at Columbia's Forum building — was CWP's first online workshop since the organization shifted to remote work last month in response to the coronavirus crisis. Around 30 participants took part.
 
"Exploring opportunities for local government to use technology to connect with city residents allows us to identify new ways that government can develop trust, cultivate more responsive policies, and equip residents with tools to influence policy outcomes in more equitable manner," Thomas Asher, Columbia World Projects' Director of Convenings, said. "CWP is using its convening power to bring together a wide-ranging group of thinkers from within and outside the university to discuss these issues at this critical juncture in order to both respond to the disruptions of physical distancing and plan beyond this period."
 
The workshop's participants took part in a hands-on collaborative brainstorm with New York City’s newly established Civic Engagement Commission to help them scope possibilities for realizing their mandate, which is to "enhance civic participation, promote civic trust, and strengthen democracy in New York City."

Participants also discussed models for enhancing participatory democracy and mechanisms by which the university can support City Hall and other city government agencies. They evaluated ways to build relationships between communities and municipal government in order to enhance the power that urban residents can wield while cultivating more responsive structures of governance. The group also discussed democratic innovations that empower traditionally marginalized communities in urban space.
 
The meeting was part of Columbia World Projects' ongoing work on the topic of inclusive cities. CWP has several working groups that meet regularly and bring together researchers and practitioners to address pressing issues facing cities; this was the first meeting of the civic technology working group. CWP will hold two more meetings on the topic with smaller groups of participants  before reconvening the entire group in June. One of the May meetings will focus on surveying the landscape of existing models of civic digital engagement at the city-wide scale and the other will focus on how to measure civic engagement. 

In June, the full civic technology working group will reconvene for a meeting focused on Europe, organized by the Obama Foundation Scholars Alice Barbe, Kirsten Brosbol and Christian Vanizette. Participants will discuss modes of digital civic engagement, enhancing civic trust and increasing civic participation, especially among vulnerable communities. The group will discuss issues such as how city governments and the European Union can complement each other in seeking to implement innovative solutions around enhancing civic engagement. 

These conversations are part of an effort by CWP to be leaders in organizing academics, practitioners, funders and key actors in government around civic technology and engagement. A report on our civic technology meetings will be published to this website after our June meeting.