1.2 Open and Transparent
Openness and transparency are cornerstones of civic tech. They involve sharing our work, processes, and decision-making openly with the community, fostering trust, collaboration, and shared ownership of civic solutions.
Why it matters for project success:
Being open is one of the best ways for civic tech projects to scale their impact. When we share code, ideas and findings publicly, we make it possible for others to use and adapt that knowledge for future projects. And even if your project doesn’t launch, your early findings and code can help someone else pick up where you left off!
Working in the open also creates opportunities for more people to engage with your project, and can surface insights from valuable – if unexpected – places.
What it means in practice:
- Open Source Development: Make your project's source code publicly available and encourage community contributions.
- Open Data: Use and produce open data, ensuring it's accessible and understandable to the public.
- Open Collaboration: Create opportunities for diverse participation throughout the project by working and communicating in open places.
Resources to help:
- INSERT: Friendly intro to Github
- INSERT: Guide to CC licensing
- INSERT: links to the Toronto open data portal
- “how to work open” by Matt Thompson
- the Working Open Project Guide from Mozilla
- INSERT: explainer on open source
- INSERT: how to use Slack for project coordination