Evidence to Action 2017: Harnessing Technology for Public Good
Technology can dramatically change how governments and civil society function. Advances in the collection and use of data by the public sector, as well as online platforms for citizen engagement, provide unprecedented opportunities to increase state efficiency and accountability. Nowhere do these advances have more potential than in the developing world.
On May 10th, The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) hosted an event for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers to explore how “GovTech” and “CivicTech” are impacting government performance, accountability, and citizen engagement around the globe. Entitled Smart Government: Harnessing Technology for Public Good, the event was part of CEGA’s annual Evidence to Action series and was hosted by Orange Silicon Valley.
Learn more about CEGA’s work on this issues here.
Agenda
Welcome address — Temina Madon (Executive Director, Center for Effective Global Action, UC Berkeley)
Welcome address — Gabriel Sidhom (Vice President, Technology Development, Orange Silicon Valley)
Digital platforms and political participation in South Africa — Craig McIntosh (UC San Diego)
Broadcasting political debates in Sierra Leone — Katherine Casey (Stanford)
Crowd-sourcing ratings of public services in Pakistan — Arman Rezaee (UC Davis)
Social media and censorship evasion in China — Margaret E. Roberts (UC San Diego)
Panel Discussion: From the Bottom Up – Innovations for Accountability & Mobilization
Keynote: Connecting citizens, strengthening services: ICT for public accountability — Umar Saif (Chairman, Punjab IT Board)
Machine learning to fight corruption — Thiago Marzagão (Office of the Comptroller General in Brazil)
Smartphone monitoring and behavioral economics for the public sector in Pakistan — Michael Callen (UC San Diego)
Using technology for better governance — Karthik Muralidharan (UC San Diego)
Sensors to improve public transport in Nairobi — David Schönholzer (UC Berkeley)
What’s Next? The Learning Agenda for Technology & Governance — a panel discussion with:
-Umar Saif (Punjab IT Board); Katrin Verclas (Independent Consultant)
-Jake Kendall (DFS Lab, Caribou Digital)
-David Sasaki (The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation)
-Ted Miguel (Center for Effective Global Action)
