Across the world, there are many websites and apps that help citizens to better understand how their democracies work, and what their elected representatives are doing on their behalf.

Historically, one of the main ways these tools could measure their impact was by tracking their visitor numbers and page views via website analytics tools.

However, across the world, civic and pro-democracy tech projects are finding that citizens can’t, or no longer, directly visit their websites and apps.

They’re either restricted by data packages that only allow them to use social media sites, or are finding out information via AI chatbots or social media, rather than directly visiting sites and apps.

This shift can make it harder than ever to measure the reach and impact of pro-democracy projects and tools. Traditional website analytics no longer tell the full story, leaving some projects struggling to demonstrate their effectiveness—and, as a result, to secure the funding needed to sustain vital democratic services.

At this TICTeC gathering, we’ll hear directly from practitioners running civic and pro-democracy tech initiatives from across the world.

They’ll share the strategies they’re using to reach people where they are, ensure their services remain accessible and relevant, and find new ways to track impact in this changing digital landscape.

We’ll also discuss how organisations deal with fewer direct site visits, and challenges they may, or may not, have with this.

We’ll be joined by the following speakers/panellists:

Ana Arevadze from Forset in Georgia will talk about their work with social media influencers to inform and educate Georgian youth on voting and democratic information.
Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh from Enough is Enough Nigeria will share how they have leveraged social media, chatbots, and messaging services through their ShineYourEye platform to provide citizens with accurate democratic information and improve access to elected representatives.
Joseph Tahinduka from ParliamentWatch Uganda will speak about working with infomediaries such as local radio and journalists to get parliamentary information to a wider audience, as well as their usage of social media and messaging apps.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Beyond websites: How pro-democracy projects reach their audiences