Technology and development (based on the study visit in Los Angeles, February 2006)
22nd March 2006, Budapest
One of the main objectives of our trip was to learn how to apply the new tools of
technological development more effectively in our social development activities. During the
trip we had a chance to meet people and initiatives that helped us to rethink our own initiative
in a more profound manner and get us closer to the ideal state we had visioned (naturally, this
did necessarily meant an immediate transfer of know-hows to the Central-Eastern European
Region). The framework for rethinking the issue of technological development consisted of a
visit to the Urban Planning Department of the University of California, where we were
presented the innovative initiatives related to the department (Alan Toy, Neil Richman), and a
meeting with Gregory Curtain at the end of the trip, with whom we had a joint evaluation /
planning session.
The discussions at the University of California were focused on a locally developed knowhow by which statistical or other data at hand can be displayed in 2 dimensions in a map-like
form, synchronized to the duty we are about to perform. All this is done with the help of a
map, through combining the GIS and GPS technologies.
To give a simple example: the different community services of a particular urban
neighborhood can be displayed on a map where the different services can be separated by a
set of graphic tools. Different categories can be established for working with the database
(e.g. by area, by type of service, by target group, etc.). The “self-refreshing” method
developed by the university allows for uploading content into these categories.
Mapping is actually a rather simple operation (displaying data on a map), but it is rather
labour and time consuming. Nevertheless, in the Eastern part of Europe it is only present in
embryo, which means that it still carries a lot of new opportunities. Since the data used can be
of any kind, only creativity can limit its use, and it can give a considerable impetus to several
areas of public life, especially in urban neighborhoods (cooperation among NGOs,
networking, services, business, health, etc.)
Although it is not necessarily among the Citizens Network’s objectives to engage in building
great-scale information systems (not even if they serve the objectives of the community and
develop participation), it can still be rather interesting for the member organizations. In
Hungary, for example, we are still lacking a comprehensive civil database on existing
Hungarian civic initiatives. Imagine if this data was not only accessible, but also displayable
in their physical environment (showing their division by area and type), categorizable and
collectible (and again displayable) in several ways, providing real information on particular
organizations to the user on the organizational level. This could assist civil society on several
levels, promoting the involvement and orientation of local levels, the development of national
cooperation schemes, and, through linking these, international networking as well.
Naturally, this is only an example, and we could as well mention the touristic, health and
social services, or even local resource maps. The method is also suitable for comparing
international research schemes (for example social capital).
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Partly connected to the mapping techniques, a sort of technical development strategy for the
Citizens Network was given birth during the rest of our discussions.
General objective: to increase local citizen participation through the Citizens Network by
introducing new technologies at hand.
Related partial objectives:
- To raise awareness of the technology within the network, and to develop the skills for
applying them,
- To make our results transmittable and applicable both for ourselves and our target groups.
Basic principles and steps:
Purely technical or formal development is not sufficient (yet it is indispensable!). The goal is
to have the desired target group use the channels established. The development of usage is
best served by an adequate (and diverse) content!!! (training and technical development is
not as important).
It is the users themselves who can best shape the interface they are wishing to use, while
providing functional and sustainable contents.
The main concrete objectives are therefore:
- the establishment of a genuine basis, which is really capable of moving us towards the
above objectives (website)
- the establishment of an „open resource library” to collect our acquired knowledge and
the technical possibilities we have learnt about – Resource centre (open source* programs,
studies, good examples, information on donors, new national policies that may be interesting
in an international sense as well, etc.)
(* We could cite several arguments here: our organizations would be equipped with adequate
software (open source programs are available in almost every theme); open source initiatives
could be supported (this is a genuinely democratic opportunity for everyone, and even the
very process of creating them is community action); the mechanism of this sort of programs
can also be instructive for future technical development schemes and teaching (e.g.
establishing a case studies center, etc.); through open source programs NGOs can take on
plenty of new services, that only used to be applied in business (e.g. movies, sound, etc.))
Possible steps to move forward:
1. A taskforce should be established within the network in order to find the adequate form,
the adequate software and the existing and functioning good examples, and to shape the
whole initiative into a project.
2. Continuous training courses should be inserted in the process. The best way would be to
run them in e-learning way (for the network, and the target groups).
3. The most important element of the website to be created would be that users (in some
cases the particular countries or organizations) would manage the page collectively, that
is, they would develop it together. The most suitable format for this would probably be if
the CEECN main page integrated weblogs that are developed by members individually (it
is not compulsory to update their site regularly, but the fact that everyone manages their
unit in a chronological order serves continuity, and in this way the processes and
environment of the others become more easily apprehensible. It would be very important
to have photos, sounds and movies alongside texts. The weblog format also allows for
both getting and giving impressions about the given country, organization, etc.
4. The establishment of the “open resource library” requires research and the collection of
materials (and a right choice of format – languages can be a problem here). We already
possess a part of the elements in this library (e.g. best practices), but open source
programs need to be collected and categorized in several ways. To a certain extent, we
also have such lists at hand, but what is really important for us is to have them applicable
on community levels (this requires a clearly understandable categorization, technical
assistance and possible a training course on e-learning as well).
Before launching the entire program, it is recommended to launch a pilot project, the
results of which could be spread out at the conference in 2007.
Resources
- The American colleagues (Greg Curtain in the first place) will help us implement the
steps in the process that require research, and they will also provide support in certain
stages of the implementation process (Eric Leiland)
- They will also help us with involving software companies and informatics firms, and
lobbying
- As for financial resources: we are facing a task which donors are usually willing to
sponsor. Here, we have communication and informatics firms in mind, such as
Vodafone, T-mobile, Microsoft, IBM, Solectron, etc. Naturally, EU and national funds
could also be involved (we would need a fundraising strategy as well).
Mate Varga (HACD)