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The Practice of Civic Tech: Tensions in the Adoption and Use of New Technologies in Community Based Organizations

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  • Eric Gordon

    (Engagement Lab, Emerson College, USA)

  • Rogelio Alejandro Lopez

    (Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, USA)

Abstract

This article reports on a qualitative study of community based organizations’ (CBOs) adoption of information communication technologies (ICT). As ICTs in the civic sector, otherwise known as civic tech, get adopted with greater regularity in large and small organizations, there is need to understand how these technologies shape and challenge the nature of civic work. Based on a nine-month ethnographic study of one organization in Boston and additional interviews with fourteen other organizations throughout the United States, the study addresses a guiding research question: how do CBOs reconcile the changing (increasingly mediated) nature of civic work as ICTs, and their effective adoption and use for civic purposes, increasingly represent forward-thinking, progress, and innovation in the civic sector?—of civic tech as a measure of “keeping up with the times.” From a sense of top-down pressures to innovate in a fast-moving civic sector, to changing bottom-up media practices among community constituents, our findings identify four tensions in the daily practice of civic tech, including: 1) function vs. representation, 2) amplification vs. transformation, 3) grassroots vs. grasstops, and 4) youth vs. adults. These four tensions, derived from a grounded theory approach, provide a conceptual picture of a civic tech landscape that is much more complicated than a suite of tools to help organizations become more efficient. The article concludes with recommendations for practitioners and researchers.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Gordon & Rogelio Alejandro Lopez, 2019. "The Practice of Civic Tech: Tensions in the Adoption and Use of New Technologies in Community Based Organizations," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 57-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v:7:y:2019:i:3:p:57-68
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gerardine DeSanctis & Marshall Scott Poole, 1994. "Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(2), pages 121-147, May.
    2. Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2000. "Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 404-428, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eric Gordon, 2019. "Civic Organizations and Digital Technologies in an Age of Distrust," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 54-56.

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