Designing Civic Technology with Trust

Title of the Paper

Designing Civic Technology with Trust

Paper Information

• Field of Study: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Digital Civic Engagement, and Trust Building
• Keywords: Trust, Democracy, Digital Citizenship, Smart Cities, Civic Technology Design

Research Background and Issues

• Problems or Challenges:
  • As technology increasingly influences the relationship between people and governments, existing public governance technology designs often rely on neoliberal logic, emphasizing efficiency and transactional interactions, while neglecting complex and politicized civic interactions (e.g., racial segregation, economic inequality).
  • Current technological systems fail to effectively address the growing public distrust in government institutions.
• Importance of the Research:
  • Trust is foundational to public institutions, and its absence exacerbates the gap between citizens and governments, weakening democratic governance.
  • Designing effective civic technology systems is crucial for maintaining governance relationships.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • The authors observed that most trust-related design approaches focus on transparency and efficiency, without adequately considering complex social-historical contexts and emotional factors.
  • Building on the trust conceptual framework “Trust-as-Distance” from previous studies, the authors aim to explore how this concept can be implemented in practical design.

Solution

• Proposed Method or Solution:
  • Through a two-year design ethnography collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs in Atlanta, the study proposed and developed a socio-technical system called “Code Enforcer” to address trust issues faced by immigrant communities during housing code enforcement.
  • Using the “Trust-as-Distance” framework, the study emphasizes “reducing distance” as the primary goal of civic technology design.
• Innovative Aspects:
  • Introduced a three-step design framework: identifying trust-related distances within the design space, analyzing the role of socio-technical components, and using sensitizing concepts to support the design process.
  • Designed a hybrid system combining digital and non-digital methods, leveraging direct personal interactions and subsequent digital processes to establish and maintain relationships between governments and residents.
• Implementation Steps:
  1. Identify Sources of Distance in Trust: Field research revealed that residents’ distrust of the government stems from multiple distances (spatial, power, temporal, uncertainty).
  2. Identify Socio-Technical Components: Analyze social practices, existing technologies, and relationships between residents during the process.
  3. Use Sensitizing Concepts to Construct the Design System: Incorporate concepts such as historicized participation, attention to user experience, expectation management, and relationship maintenance.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:
  • Designed the “Code Enforcer” system, which includes printed “Code Guides,” a mobile-friendly digital request interface, and an internal “Issue Map” for government use.
  • The system helps immigrant communities understand housing code enforcement processes and provides tools to track and document code violations.
• Advantages Over Existing Solutions:
  • Shifted the focus of traditional technology solutions from excessive emphasis on efficiency and transactional logic to reducing the distance between governments and the public and enhancing interactive relationships through the “Trust-as-Distance” framework.
  • The system prioritizes interpersonal interactions while integrating technological tools to improve residents’ understanding and participation in the process.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • Field tests demonstrated that the system successfully fostered closer relationships between immigrant communities and the government.
  • Features like SMS reminders and visualization techniques improved the continuity of interactions between both parties.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Limitations: The system design primarily reflects the perspective of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, lacking direct design feedback from residents; potential trust misuse should be considered.
  • Future Directions:
    1. Investigate how to address trust challenges in other bureaucratic agencies (e.g., public works or water departments).
    2. Explore the application of this framework in institutions lacking foundational trust.
    3. Combine the trust design framework with a social justice perspective to mitigate structural inequalities potentially caused by technology.

Conclusion

This paper provides a detailed framework and practical case for designing trust-based civic technology, emphasizing the reduction of distance and the establishment of relationships. It highlights the role of technology as a “bridge” rather than a “barrier” between citizens and governments.