IMPETUS for citizen science!’s Post

I am excited to announce that an article I wrote evaluating different deliberative tech tools was just published as a Toda Peace Institute Policy brief! https://lnkd.in/eiUi6zjb A few keys takeaways: Stack your tools strategically: Use Talk to the City/Deliberation.io for listening, Pol.is for mapping opinions, and CrowdSmart for final decisions—each tool serves a distinct purpose in the deliberation process. We need a 'deliberation index': The field needs shared metrics beyond participation counts to measure reasoning quality, view change, and engagement depth across different platforms. Collaboration is key: Greater interoperability and universal standards will make deliberative tech more accessible and help us build governance structures that value collective decision-making. I am excited to continue experimenting and see how the deliberative tech community continues to evolve. Special thanks to Victoria Stanski, Lisa Schirch and Rosemary McBryde for their help writing and editing, and to all the students involved in the Common Good AI summer program.

Really appreciate this new Toda Peace Institute brief on deliberative tech tools — and the call for interoperability and shared standards across the field. This is exactly the kind of thinking that inspired the Civic Tech Alliance, where we’re working to connect civic and deliberative platforms through a shared infrastructure — including decentralized identity, data standards, and interoperable civic hubs that make participation seamless across tools and jurisdictions. When we align our efforts, we can unlock network effects for digital democracy — where each new platform, process, and citizen adds value to the whole ecosystem. Exciting to see the deliberative tech community converging on this vision. #CivicTech #DigitalDemocracy #Interoperability #Deliberation #NetworkEffects #CivicTechAlliance

It's #OAweek once again, a time to celebrate progress in #OpenAccess and #OpenResearch, and take time to consider the future. The open tool kit includes a variety of best practices that contribute to excellence in research, by increasing efficiency and speed, enabling reproducibility and reuse, and empowering collaboration, creativity and integrity at the highest levels. Together, researchers, funders, institutions and other #scholcomm stakeholders have the power to reshape scholarly communications to better reflect the values and workflows of research. But only if we work together. https://strategiesos.org/

A researcher came to our community once. Took notes. Wrote a paper. We never heard back. Too many communities know this story by heart. Strangers arrive. They ask questions. People open up, sometimes about painful things. Then… silence. No feedback. No change. No acknowledgment. It doesn’t have to be that way. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) Toolkit offers a different approach, one grounded in respect, shared power, and long-term connection. Developed by community researchers with academic partners, this guide doesn’t just tell you what to do,it shows you how to: Build trust before collecting data → Start with relationships, not research agendas. Follow the community’s lead → Let local voices shape the questions that get asked—and the solutions that get prioritised. Use creative, inclusive methods → From story circles to role plays to community mapping, gather data in ways that feel natural and empowering. Co-analyse, co-write, co-present → This isn’t about handing over transcripts. It’s about sharing meaning-making power. But tools alone aren’t enough. To truly change the way we design and measure impact, we need to rethink our entire approach to monitoring, evaluation, and learning. That’s what the Clarity-to-Impact™ Programme helps you do. It’s where development professionals learn to: → Move from extractive data collection to participatory sense-making. → Design frameworks that centre people, not paperwork. → Build systems that track real transformation, not just activities. If you’re serious about turning participation into lasting change, not just good intentions, then this programme is your next step. Almost full. Next intake is in 2026. 🔥 Secure your place today and be part of this month's cohort before registration closes: https://lnkd.in/e7gh5fan #ClarityToImpact #PAR

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a transformative approach that shifts the centre of power from institutions to communities. Rather than viewing people as subjects, PAR engages them as co-researchers and decision-makers. It values local knowledge, shared authority, and collective action as forms of evidence. The process is cyclical—listening, acting, and reflecting—so that each stage builds capacity, deepens trust, and leads to tangible change. In Australia, PAR provides an antidote to extractive research practices that have historically silenced or objectified First Nations peoples, culturally diverse communities, and people with disability. By prioritising inclusion, accessibility, and ethical collaboration, it creates a framework for self-determination and social justice. This aligns with the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments that demand participation, accessibility, and accountability. Success in PAR is not measured by publications or polished reports but by the redistribution of power, the formation of new partnerships, and the community-led solutions that emerge. It redefines research as a relationship, not a transaction. For governments, service providers, and advocates, PAR provides a roadmap for co-designing evidence-based reforms that restore dignity to those most affected by inequity. Ultimately, PAR demonstrates that data is not objective until it is inclusive, and that lasting change begins when research is conducted not about communities but with them.

At Living Data 2025 in Bogotá, our colleagues Marie Alavi and Vanessa-Ariane Guzek Hernando presented “Ensuring continuous open data flow on the state of Open Science – GATE’s service for reliable research and optimum Open Science capacity building, practice and policies.” Their presentation showcased how GATE acts as a collaborative ecosystem — connecting knowledge creators, research communities, data infrastructures, and policy actors — to strengthen Open Science through trustworthy data practices, FAIR(-R) standards, and responsible conduct of research. Through its GATE Lifecycle, the platform continuously integrates community-contributed knowledge into actionable guidance, shared via the GATE Report, helping institutions align their Open Science materials, training, and policies for real-world impact. 👏 A heartfelt thank you to all participants of #LivingData2025 for engaging in this dialogue on sustainable and responsible data openness — and to our partners #NERQ, Kiel University, Pensoft Publishers, and MILLER INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE (MIK) for their support. 🔗 Discover more: www.openscienceGATE.com

Listening Forward & Celebrating a Decade: We’re here because, with, and through you. Over the past decade, so many of you have stretched your mandates, built spaces for experimentation, crossed departmental lines and hierarchies – daring to unfold your potential without waiting for permission. Since 2015, Politics for Tomorrow has been a nextlearning flagship initiative and a living laboratory exploring what #PublicDesign and #GovernanceInnovation could become: not a niche, but a shared field.  From cross-sector alliances to capacity building to learning infrastructures, many partnerships have become interfaces for transformation in the public sector and beyond.  For us, each dialogue, prototype, or project has been part of something larger – a fielding practice connecting people who work #InServiceOfLife and care about the #CommonGood in reflexive, tangible ways. It’s been quite a ride … and the roller coaster ahead looks even wilder. The infrastructures we’ve relied on are shifting: some collapsing under external strain, others hollowed out by the lack of recognition for the quiet work that keeps them humane. Yet from within the cracks, communities keep building: crafting institutions that breathe with shared care, creativity, and commitment. Instead of throwing a party, we’d like to listen. And invite you to explore how collaboration between public institutions and civil society is evolving, and to sense what capacities the next decade will ask of us. 👉 5’ reflection EN https://lnkd.in/de4v6Zme 👉 5’ Reflexion DE https://lnkd.in/dEyhQ_Kd We’ll share what emerges in early November, openly and accessibly, so that this collective learning can circulate across the entire field. 🎊 Here’s to you – and to the next generation of making governance more relational, reflexive, and regenerative. #10x100 #PlanetaryCivics #CreativeBureaucracy #InstitutionalLearning #ReflexiveGovernance  #Fielding #RelationalDesign #OeffentlichesGestalten

Partnerships are everywhere in higher education, but the most important ones aren't always the ones we talk about. We tend to highlight community, corporate, or cross-institutional collaborations. Don't get me wrong: such organizational partnerships are critical. But this isn't about those. It’s about the quieter partnerships within an institution. It's about the ones among faculty, staff, administrators, researchers, and technologists that keep the place alive. These are the partnerships that help institutions not only run, but learn and evolve. As AI development and proliferation accelerates, these internal collaborations matter more than ever. Governance, policy, innovation, and pedagogy all depend on partnership to evolve responsibly. But anxiety often drives retrenchment. People pull back, protect turf, retreat to the familiar. The irony is that uncertainty is exactly when partnership matters most. It’s how institutions build resilience, capacity, and shared understanding. Maybe the question is: which partnerships are essential to our future, and how do we nurture them with intention and care? #HigherEducation #AcademicLeadership #InstitutionalInnovation #AIAndPolicy #Collaboration #OrganizationalCulture (Image made with Midjourney)

Another great milestone for the EAi community. Miami University is up and running on PulseConnect! Their advancement team is using attitudinal insights and AI-powered messaging to personalize outreach in minutes, not hours. It's helping campus partners understand what their alumni care about and communicate with confidence. 🏆 The result: faster content, stronger alignment, and more confident communications. Curious what this could look like for your institution? https://lnkd.in/gq6cVW7i #HigherEd #AlumniEngagement #AdvancementInnovation #AIinEducation

Big milestone for our team. Miami University is now live on PulseConnect! Their advancement team is using attitudinal data to shape messages that resonate and doing in minutes what once took hours. Our data is grounding creativity and providing confidence in the chosen engagement approach. Seeing Miami’s team do this quickly, creatively, and with real collaboration across departments is the best validation we could ask for. We're excited to continue helping higher education teams move from opinion-based outreach to insight-driven engagement. More to come! #HigherEducation #AdvancementInnovation #AlumniEngagement #PulseConnect