Just another month in the world of mySociety
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** Land rovers, grants, poetry and data
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** October 2022
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Democracy
** Send a poem where it can make a difference
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National Poetry Day logo, backed with images of creatures such as whales, hares and butterflies
It's National Poetry Day today and we were delighted to see that the associated website suggests sending a poem to your representatives via our WriteToThem service.
"Find or write a poem that speaks about something you’d like to change or praise about the environment", says the campaign; then: "send your poem to decision makers, activists or local people who can make a difference."
So: got a choice couplet, a heartfelt haiku or a light-hearted limerick for your reps? Here's where to start ([link removed]) .
Data
** Fragmented public data
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If you publish data about or from public authorities, or use it in your work, we're sure you'll have opinions about the differing data standards between bodies!
And once you've finished that big sigh, we'd love to hear from you — more details here ([link removed]) .
Transparency
A magnifying glass held up to a face, showing the wearer's sunglasses bigger than the rest of them. Image by Marten Newhall
** Use your Googling skills for good
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Our Freedom of Information site WhatDoTheyKnow strives to keep email addresses for more than 45,000 public authorities up to date — which, as you can imagine, is no easy task.
This is just one of the many day-to-day operations involved in providing a smooth experience for our users. The good news is, it's one you can help with, as and when you have time.
If you've got 5 minutes and fancy a quick Google, take a look at this post ([link removed]) and see what you can find. Thanks!
** The past lives of military land rovers
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A camo-coloured land rover
If you're the owner of a land rover that you think might have had an exciting past life in the military, FOI provides one route to find out more. John goes into details here ([link removed]) , with examples of some successful requests.
Climate
** Innovations in Climate Tech
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Innovations in climate tech: global inspiration for local climate action
** Prepare to bid
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In last week's event, we saw how tech is helping local councils reach their carbon zero targets in a variety of settings. If you'd like to catch up, check out our summary post here ([link removed]) .
We hope the speakers got your imaginations racing, because in our next online meet-up we'll be discussing how innovators and organisations can team up with councils to bid for one of our grants. These will give £5,000 towards the trial of a new project.
Sound good? You can still take part even if you didn't attend the initial event: just make sure you've taken in the video and notes ([link removed]) , and then register for the next meeting here ([link removed]) .
** Climate data and climate coding
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A broad tree with a wide root ecosystem
Researchers and developers: we're on a mission to know more about how our services can help you in your climate work.
Two posts to get you started:
* We want to know what would help you use our climate data ([link removed])
* We want to share how we publish and analyse data ([link removed]) , because it might be useful for you too.
** Mapping climate progress
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A figure walking through an autumnal woods with the sun low in the sky
ReForest Brighton is a climate initiative, developed in the seaside town but spreading its ambitions across the UK. They're currently using the data from our Climate Action Plan Explorer to ensure everybody understands more about councils' progress to their carbon neutral targets: read more about their mapping project here ([link removed]) .
** Be sure not to miss our climate news
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We're doing so much work around climate that it now deserves its own newsletter!
Sign up for our monthly Climate newsletter here ([link removed]) .
Events
TICTeC Labs logo
** Civic tech in hostile environments:
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** How can we thrive in challenging contexts?
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** Rescheduled: 17 October
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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 reading
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* The ICO's recently-stated aim is to “empower you through information ([link removed]) ”. Is the new broom already sweeping clean ([link removed]) ?
* Maybe so, but we're not doing great on open data ([link removed]) .
* Legal commentator David Allen Green is using WhatDoTheyKnow ([link removed]) to dig into "Lord Pannick's opinion".
* It's in the US but let's hope the Center For Civic Design's new project inspires the UK too: a guide to accessible voting for people with disabilities ([link removed])
* Getting nowhere with those pothole reports? Easy, just invite a monarch to your town ([link removed]) .
* Paging Ian Dury. Well how else do you redact a face ([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]) .
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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: Rubik's Cubes - ** Olav Ahrens Røtne ([link removed])
; Magnifying glass ** Marten Newhall ([link removed])
; Land Rover AlfvanBeem via ** Wikimedia Commons ([link removed](1997)_(owner_C._Brown)_pic1.JPG)
; Tree ** Emma Gossett ([link removed])
; Forest ** Aaron Burden ([link removed])
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