Tom Spengler of Granicus made an important comment on a panel we were on at the Accella Engage conference this August. Tom's comment referenced civic engagement tools as a way of rebuilding trust between citizens and governments. This sentiment has started to enter my dialogue more often as I reflect on the value proposition of responding to citizens' requests in an open fashion. At a time when the Federal Government in the U.S. has lost trust in both directions (see Drones, the NSA, healthcare.gov, and the Federal shutdown for examples) local government has been working hard to rebuild trust in both directions (see participatory budgeting, open service request platforms like SeeClickFix, Code For America and the rise of do it yourself civic movements for examples). This is just a quick post to highlight the value of trust as a key metric in a functioning civil society. What are you doing to rebuild trust in your community? Videos from City Lab hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Atlantic Cities, and Aspen Institute and Accella Engage.

Citizens Help Their City With Mobile Technology from The Atlantic on FORA.tv