Plus events, news and FOI findings from mySociety

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** News, opportunities and events
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** July 2022
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Recruitment
A woman holding a laptop and making a presentation in front of engaged staff members sitting at tables.


** Do something different: join our Board!
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We currently have several vacancies available on the boards of mySociety and our wholly owned subsidiary SocietyWorks — providing exciting possibilities for the right people. Might you be one of them?

These are voluntary roles and therefore unpaid, but reasonable expenses are of course covered. We believe that this opportunity offers experiences quite unlike any you’re likely to find elsewhere, and will prove rewarding to the right candidates.

If that sounds of interest, please check out our recruitment pack ([link removed]) where you’ll discover lots more about the kind of people we’re looking for, and instructions for how to apply.
Transparency


** Now then, Northern
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An empty railway track stretching out to the horizon

With rail workers' salaries in the news thanks to the recent train strikes, one FOI response obtained through WhatDoTheyKnow was very timely, and well-placed to inform public debate. It lists the salaries and job titles of the ten highest paid managers at Northern Trains, a publicly-owned rail company.

Northern themselves clearly felt otherwise, though, because they asked us to remove the information. Did we do so? The WhatDoTheyKnow team takes up the story here ([link removed]) .


** A visit from Georgia
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It may be a strange way to learn about another country's history and culture, but it's always an effective one: ask what their Freedom of Information rights are like!

We recently learned a lot about the former Soviet state of Georgia, thanks to a visit from Teona Tomashvili. Her organisation ForSet have set up an Alaveteli site and we had a great time swapping notes. You can enjoy the same insights in this post ([link removed]) .
Climate


** Join us online at these climate-focused events
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Civic Tech Surgery #5


** TICTeC Climate Surgery
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** July 14
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The next TICTeC Civic Tech Surgery ([link removed]) will, through the lens of climate action, examine how civic tech can help coordinate action that’s greater than the sum of its parts. It should be inspiring!

Discussants will include Jacopo Ottaviani, Chief Data Officer at Code for Africa, and Laurence Watson, Head of Technology at Subak. Find out more and book your place here ([link removed]) .
A flight of steps with 'all ideas grow out of other ideas' painted on them in white.


** Innovations in climate tech
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** September 21
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Are you using digital technology or data to tackle the climate emergency at a local level? If so, the world needs to know! Come and help spark the imagination, by showcasing your project in front of an international audience on September 21, via Zoom.

More details on how to get involved here ([link removed]) .


** Sustain: talking to councils about food and farming
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A hand, holding a large beetroot that has just been pulled from the ground.

We learned something when we talked to Sustain: councils have a huge role in how food is produced. Obvious when you think about it — they're big buyers of food for schools and care services; and some of them even own their own farms.

If you're from a council, you should explore Sustain's new online tool to help you make change around food and farming. And there are lots of transferrable ideas here for any campaign whose cause is impacted by climate, even if marginally. See how Sustain used climate action plans to open conversations with councils, here ([link removed]) .
Opportunities
TICTeC Labs logo


** Call for proposals: accessing good quality data
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As part of mySociety's TICTeC Labs ([link removed]) programme, the TICTeC Action Lab #3 ([link removed]) working group is looking for an individual, organisation or joint team to produce resources to help train organisations or the public in accessing good quality data.

There is $3,760 USD (inclusive of taxes) available for this work. If you’re interested in applying, then please read these details ([link removed]) and fill in this application form ([link removed]) by July 28.


** Civic tech in hostile environments:
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** How can we thrive in challenging contexts?
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** September 8
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Civic tech practitioners around the world are operating in the face of all kinds of hostile environments. Some face governmental resistance to their services; others are trying to keep websites up and running within a conflict zone. In Civic Tech Surgery #6, we'll discuss some of these challenges and how we might put solutions in place that will benefit organisations globally.

Everyone is welcome to join in this discussion: reserve your place here ([link removed]) for free.


** What we're consuming
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** Bumper edition
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* The Code For All Summit 2022 is open for proposals ([link removed]) — but only 'til tomorrow, so hurry if you'd like to run a session (it's remote).
* Full Fact are campaigning around corrections to Parliament's official record ([link removed]) — that is, amendments to Hansard where an MP is found to have made a false or misleading statement.
* IPSA made a video ([link removed]) to explode myths around MPs' expenses.
* Jacob Rees Mogg led the charge on the deletion of MPs' attendance data ([link removed]) . TheyWorkForYou users often ask us whether a specific MP was present for a specific debate: and unless they have voted, we can't answer because the data isn't there. Now we can't even find out if they were in the building.
* If that's sparked your desire to make FOI requests, you might find some inspiration in this article ([link removed]) from our pals across the ocean, Muckrock.
* Is China more democratic than the US? ([link removed]) Depends if you ask a Chinese person or an American one.
* Have you ever considered that you might just not be pessimistic enough ([link removed]) ?
* An interesting story about the least-viewed articles on Wikipedia. Spoiler: moths don't come out of this well ([link removed]) .
Did you know that you can subscribe to our special interest newsletters too? Get an extra monthly bulletin on Democracy & Campaigning, Freedom of Information, Better Cities & Councils, or Research. Pick and choose your mySociety newsletters here ([link removed][UNIQID]) .
** Follow mySociety
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mySociety is a registered charity in England and Wales (1076346) and a limited company (03277032).
Through our trading subsidiary SocietyWorks (05798215) we also provide commercial services.
Image credits: Railway lines - ** Ben Garratt ([link removed])
; Teona Tomashvili - supplied by her;
Anish Kapoor quote steps - ** CJ Dayrit ([link removed])
; beetroot - ** Rasa Kasparaviciene ([link removed])
Copyright © 2022 mySociety, All rights reserved.
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