We are a research lab working at the intersection of data, technology, design and social science to strengthen the course of civic engagements in India.
We work to harness the potential of open knowledge movements and better enable citizens to engage in matters of public reform.
We aim to grow data and tech capacity of governments, non-profits, think-tanks, media houses, universities, and more to enable data-driven decision making at scale.
"A piece of knowledge, unlike a piece of physical property, can be shared by large groups of people without making anybody poorer." - Aaron Swartz
At CivicDataLab, we exercise openness as core to our work and encourage our partners to collaborate in open as well. We are committed to sharing our learnings and failures to grow together.
We believe that our world can become a much better place if we start thinking and working in open.
We believe that:
Diversity is the only thing we should have in common as a group.
We endeavour to think and act independently together while creating a safe working culture.
Promoting a culture where everyone irrespective of their uniqueness work and grow together.
We understand feedback is powerful as it serves as a guide to assist people to know how they and others perceive their performance.
We regularly exchange feedback among partner organisations, communities and other people we work with. It helps us achieve more collaboration and explore new opportunities.
We also practice effective listening and proactive communication as they are essential for effective problem-solving in an organization.
Exploration and Experimentation are intrinsic to our work, from day to day tasks to organizational conducts.
By encouraging experiments, we foster a culture of research that defines who we are as an organization. What works is retained and reproduced and what doesn’t is yet another lesson learned.
Innovation thrives when we continuously experiment and challenge ourselves. So as we ensure experimentation, we inherently encourage innovation.
We believe in collaborating, co-creating and engaging communities to drive sustainable changes in the society.
We work to leverage communities in all our interventions to learn and grow together.
Civic-tech is challenging and requires a lot of social and technical experimentation where mistakes are bound to happen, but being patient and calm towards situations is what we value.
We believe that mistakes are as important as any other resource we acquire as a team and indeed they help us get better, wiser and kinder.
Dealing with complex social issues can sometimes become a bit overwhelming.
We believe that having fun activities like hanging out, playing games, eating food and travelling together not only helps us get to know each other better but also motivates and reduces stress.
We keep finding innovative ways to engage and bond together.
CivicDataLab works across sectors to increase access to information. We use free and open source tools to collaborate and co-create with social change makers. We follow responsible and ethical practices to drive civic engagement and advocacy in the country.
Meet the multi-disciplinary team who work behind the scenes to make it all happen!
Meet the team >>Let’s co-create the next solution enabling sustainable social change in your area of work
We are a remote first organisation and meet every quarter for a retreat where we catch-up with our bandhus, reflect on our past few months and take key decisions around our future.
