And other news from mySociety
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** More common than you might think (FOI, that is)
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** December 2022
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Transparency
** One in ten people have used FOI
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Previous estimates on what proportion of the UK population has submitted a Freedom of Information request appears to have set the number far too low — and it's not just our own polling that says so.
See the context for these figures, and how we support citizens accessing their Right to Know, in this post ([link removed]) , where you'll also find a link to the underlying data.
A graph showing that 62% of people are aware of FOI, 14% of people have used the FOI Act and 10% of people have done so on their own behalf
** Tell the ICO how to prioritise complaints
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The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is currently consulting on how to prioritise complaints about FOI requests, where authorities are failing to uphold their duties under the Act.
With more complaints than they can easily manage, they're seeking input on their proposed solutions. You can read our response, and find out how to submit your own, here ([link removed]) .
Democracy
** This one means a lot
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This just in: we were so delighted to win the 'Outstanding contribution to democratic change' category at last night's Democracy Awards ([link removed]) from the Democracy Network. Recognition is always nice, but when it comes from your peers in the sector, it is particularly welcome.
Climate
** Innovations in Climate Tech:
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** here are the projects we're funding
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Lynsted Community Kitchen Garden - a polytunnel in the background, with rows of cabbages and peas growing in the foreground
A kitchen garden in Kent, experiments into the placement of ground source heat pumps for 'difficult' dwellings, and an online database of councils' climate adaptation case studies: those are the three projects we picked from a long list of excellent contenders for our Innovations In Climate Tech small grants.
Meet all three grantees and find out more about their projects in our blog post ([link removed]) .
A trainee tree surgeon in a harness and hard hat
** CAPE is helping councils to compare best practice
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One of the reasons we made CAPE ([link removed]) , our database of council climate action plans, was to make it easier for councils to see what their peers are doing, and learn from each other.
So we were delighted to hear from one council officer who has used it in exactly that way — you can read their story here ([link removed]) .
** Get more specialised news
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Interested in a specific area of our work?
* Sign up for our monthly Climate newsletter here ([link removed])
* Or keep up with all our data announcements by subscribing here ([link removed]) .
Just to note
** It's that time of the year again
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We're busy putting together our Annual Review with its look back at everything we've done this year — so expect an extra email from us this month.
** What we're consuming
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* Martha Lane Fox says the UK tech industry still has a gender balance problem ([link removed]) .
* If your parish council operates from a quirky little URL, you might want to show them this ([link removed]) .
* Confused by Mastodon, the much-suggested platform for those fleeing Twitter? Open Rights Group provided the most helpful advice we've seen yet ([link removed]) (video).
* Are car-free cities a gendered issue? This discussion might just persuade you that the answer's 'yes' ([link removed]) (podcast).
* We always enjoy a real-time Twitter travel thread ([link removed]) . Follow along to discover: how many nations can be visited on public transport within 24 hours?
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: Garden: Lynsted Community Kitchen Garden (used with permission); Trainee tree surgeon ** Chesapeake Bay Program ([link removed])
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