Civic Intelligence (original) (raw)
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Pieces of Civic Intelligence: towards a capacities framework
E-Learning and Digital Media, 2014
Civic intelligence is the capacity of collectivities — from small informal groups to humanity as a whole — to equitably and effectively address important shared problems such as poverty, bioterrorism, and natural disasters. It's an abstract concept that can be expressed in policy, art, demonstrations, or conversation. In this article, civic intelligence has been divided into five main capacities: knowledge, attitude and aspiration, organizational capital, relational and social capital, and financial and material resources. The capacities framework is intended to convey a holistic phenomenon in a relatively simple way. While the framework as it currently exists can be useful in both research and practice, it's undoubtedly not the last word. The capacities framework for civic intelligence is more of a springboard for collaboration and action than a strait jacket that imposes inflexible and unalterable discipline.
Communities, technology, and civic intelligence
2009
Abstract In this paper, we ask what it would take to envision and support collective intelligence that was socially and environmentally ameliorative. To help answer that question we introduce the concept of" civic intelligence" as a manifestation of collective intelligence that could serve the needs of researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of communities and technology.
In spite of remarkable advances in science and technology, humankind is beset with a number of serious problems. These are not just problems that ‘won’t go away’; they are problems that are worsening considerably. These problems include the growing gap between rich and poor, between those who have too much and those who have too little, as well as a broad range of environmental issues that may have major consequences but, at the same time, are little understood. This essay explores the idea of ‘civic intelligence’. What projects, perspectives, policy and technology might humankind develop that would help us collectively address these problems? This essay discusses six aspects of ‘civic intelligence’ (orientation, organization, engagement, intelligence, products and projects, and resources) as well as ways to make cultivating our ‘civic intelligence’ a practical – non-utopian – enterprise.
Launching and Integrating a Civic Intelligence Forum
2012
Improving our collective intelligence, as the workshop organizers have pointed out, is increasingly important as we as a society and as the dominant species on the planet move inexorably into the future. The future of course will provide us with no end to problems, some of which can be anticipated and some will come as complete surprises.
Collective intelligence is a commons that needs protection and a dedicated language.
Technology is what boosts the capacity of individuals and communities to become authors of their own stories, and what enables collective intelligence to become aware of itself and to fulfill its long awaited promise. It is also what can lock up potential inside black boxes for just a few to benefit from. We are facing a paradox. It seems that at the same time as collective intelligence is making itself increasingly palpable and promising as a whole, the possibility of it being actionable locally and effectively enabling us to get ourselves out of a planetary predicament is becoming remote. In this article, I look at how collective intelligence is being hindered or captured as it comes into being, with the threat of leaving us deprived from a significant source of latent agency, and I suggest what it would take to reclaim it back. I build upon the Ecology for Transformative Action, which I set the stage for in the last issue of this journal, to examine the condition under which technology and systems dynamics can be turned towards the greater good, and how collective intelligence can be mobilized and operate as a force for systemic change. In particular, I explore further how a pattern language for systemic change regenerative of commons could be the means of expression of operationalized collective intelligence.
2011
Abstract. Civic intelligence is a form of existing -and potential -collective intelligence that is dedicated towards the reconciliation of problems that affect society collectively. The civic intelligence perspective has helped spawn various frameworks and models that can be used to inform CSCW analysis and design. This paper examines the particular relevance of civic intelligence to CSCW and discusses the implications and utility of its employment. Keywords: civic intelligence, CSCW, social learning, social issues Current Circumstances Words often fail to adequately portray the massive changes, both quantitative and qualitative, that have been made (and are continuing to be made) in humankind's vast and still-evolving information and communication complex over the past few decades. Historically cumbersome, rare, under-powered, and over-specialized, computers and other smart devices are now indispensable and are now more-or-less ordinary aspects of everyday life. Although the w...
Community Networks and the Evolution of Civic Intelligence
Although the intrinsic physicality of human beings has not changed in millennia, the species has managed to profoundly reconstitute the physical and social world it inhabits. Although the word "profound" is insufficient to describe the vast changes our world has undergone, it is sufficiently neutral to encompass both the opportunities -and the challenges -that our age provides. It is a premise of my work that technology, particularly information and communication technology (ICT), offers spectacular opportunities for humankind to address its collective problems. The problems themselves are equally spectacular:
Should We Be Testing Civics: Examining the Implications of the Civic Education Initiative
Peabody Journal of Education, 2018
Given the importance of developing civically engaged and knowledgeable citizens, many have sought to improve the quality of students’ civic education experiences. This paper examines one particular effort spearheaded by the Joe Foss Institute (JFI) which has led to 17 states passing a version JFI’s Civic Education Initiative (CEI) legislation. This conceptual paper then examines the CEI legislation considering research-based practices for teaching civics. It then introduces the policy design framework as a tool for analyzing civic policies like CEI. This political science theory recognizes that policies themselves send important signals that have implications on students’ civic development. We utilize the policy design framework to analyze CEI’s policy. Lastly, we conclude with a proposal for possible future empirical research using the policy design framework.