Before building another civic tech tool, test its route to use

Aisha Dabo and Raphael Pouyé’s twelve-page study examines civic technology that serves citizens and public institutions. The PDF carries a 2022 copyright statement and references accessed in April 2023; neither its figures nor its named initiatives should be presented as current observations.

New explanation and worked examples by the editorial team.

The diagram in words: A verified citizen problem → A working institutional route → Evidence of use and response.

The question behind the technology

The study distinguishes a working public-interest initiative from a launch that disappears after initial funding. Its discussion asks whether the technology suits the people it claims to serve and whether there is a credible route to institutional response. A public demonstration or social-media announcement is not evidence of sustained use or changed services.

Read the recommendations as design questions

The concluding discussion favours attention to the problem and theory of change, collaboration with similar initiatives and a workable relationship with public authorities. Those recommendations are not a promise that every government will cooperate. Identify a specific administrative process and verify who can acknowledge, investigate and answer a citizen request.

A complete fictional service card

Problem: residents cannot determine whether a reported broken streetlight has been acknowledged. Existing route: a municipal reporting channel, if verified locally. Proposed improvement: clear status information. Intended users: residents with different access needs. Responsible step: acknowledgement by a named operational role. Evidence: a dated response state. Do not collect names or exact personal locations merely to practise this card.

Test the smallest useful route

Use a non-personal mock request and check whether a user can find the reporting route, recognise the status and understand the next step. Record where the exercise stops. If no institution can process the report, a new interface alone cannot complete the service. Reuse an appropriate existing tool when possible instead of counting a new application as the result.

Separate delivery, use and outcomes

A published interface is an output. A user completing a request is a use observation. A repaired streetlight is a different outcome requiring its own evidence. Record the observation period and missing data. The source’s population and connectivity figures belong to its stated years; obtain a current primary dataset before making a present access estimate.