2.2 Connection and Relationship
In civic tech, we agree with the old adage that ‘it takes a village.’ Strong relationships, whether within the team, with the community or with influential stakeholders, are a key ingredient of successful projects.
Why it matters for project success:
It’s pretty hard to launch a civic tech project without people. You need people to write the code. You need people to test and validate your ideas or products. You need people to share their knowledge or networks. You need people to spread the word.
If you take time to understand and appreciate your teammates, users and stakeholders, it’s more likely they’ll be there when you need a hand.
What it looks like in practice:
- Map your ecosystem: Identify key stakeholders, potential partners, and community members relevant to your project. Once you’ve mapped your stakeholders, ask yourself what you’d want them to know, think or do.
- Look beyond hacknights: Meet your people where they’re at. If your stakeholders are often present at other events, workshops or meetings, you should be there too (at least sometimes)!
- Overcommunicate: If people are curious about or invested in a project, they want to feel like they’re in the loop. Look for ways to share progress, prototypes or learnings with your project’s community whenever you can.
Resources to help:
- INSERT: Stakeholder mapping tools (here or here),
- INSERT: lists of community organizations in Toronto, active listening guides, etc.