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How we did it,
and what we're doing next

A General Election kickstarts a spurt of activity here at mySociety: we have to update our democracy sites TheyWorkForYou and WriteToThem to reflect the new intake of MPs; this time around, MapIt had to deal with new constituency boundaries; and, new for us since the last election, there's the MP data on Local Intelligence Hub to keep up to date, too.

Well, we're glad to say it's all done! TheyWorkForYou displayed the new MPs the day after the election, thanks to hard work from mySociety staff and data from Democracy Club. You can read the background of how that happened in Matthew's post here; while Alex gives a guide to the resources that will help you navigate this new government — and our plans for the future — in this one.

Appreciate what we do?

As we hope this newsletter makes clear, we're very busy all the time, making democracy more accessible to everyone, and providing the tools to help people play an active part in society.

If you can help us out, please do head to our secure donate page. Every contribution helps us to work harder and faster towards a better, more inclusive society. Thank you.

We all need to think about AI

We noticed that a lot of organisations in our sector are beginning to use AI — but we've seen much less public sharing of policy around how to do so ethically and appropriately.

Here at mySociety, we've also started to see ways in which AI can make our work more effective: but of course, we want to do so thoughtfully.

We're doing our thinking in public. Here's where we've started — we know our stance will evolve alongside the technology itself, so our policy is a live document, on which comments are welcome.

New mySociety board members

Help us send you the emails you want to read

We do a lot of different things here at mySociety, and we appreciate that not everyone will be interested in every single part of it.

So if you've got a minute, please tell us a bit more about yourself, and we'll work towards sending you the stuff you really want to read.

Relive TICTeC — in your own time

Two packed days of our TICTeC conference? That's a LOT to take in.

Fortunately, many of the sessions are now available to watch again at your leisure. From the barnstorming keynotes to the more niche examinations of specialised subjects, and details of fascinating projects from many different countries — you'll find it all on our YouTube playlist.

Slides and notes are also available for many sessions: find them by clicking on the session details via the schedule. And finally, you may enjoy browsing photos from the event, too.

Macron's payslip gives FOI a boost

A fascinating story from our friends Ma Dada over in France, about how the release of the President's payslip educated a nation about their rights under Freedom of Information. Catch up here.

New features on WhatDoTheyKnow and Alaveteli

There's been a flurry of development on Alaveteli, the platform that runs Freedom of Information sites around the world including our own WhatDoTheyKnow. 

Firstly, you can now explore and analyse released csv files in more depth with Datasette; while new backend functionality lets site owners display blog posts and case studies on their homepages. Look out for additional announcements, coming very soon.

What we're reading

• The BBC wrote about how it feels to be a new MP; and the Spectator looked at what it's like to be leaving.
• Joe Powell's Open Government Partnership leaving speech is thoughtful and insightful.
• Public services and infrastructure: if this book sounds up our street, that'll be because it's written by Richard Pope, who played a significant part in mySociety's earlier days.
• Old-school art class vibe for the Guardian's election coverage design choices.
• Nominations are open: suggest a subject for a blue plaque.
• There's a guide dog in Parliament and of course she has her own Twitter account. And yes, of course we're following it.

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