Netgain Challenge

Technology design processes too often replicate existing power inequalities. Let's reimagine communities not as (solely) consumers or test subjects, but as co-designers, co-authors, and co-owners of the next generation of civic tech. NetGain has an opportunity to shift investment away from tech-centric solutionism towards deeply rooted strategies for social transformation, where the 'Net is seen as one key tool within a broader social movement framework. NetGain could encourage, or require, grantees to use a codesign process. Codesign means community inclusion in iterative stages of project ideation, design, implementation, testing, and evaluation, as well as shared ownership of the technologies, products, and platforms that result. We can unlock the liberatory potential of the 'Net if we invest in innovation grounded in real-world community organizing. It's high time to learn from the slogan of the Disability Justice movement: "Nothing About Us, Without Us!"