mySociety
mySociety is a UK registered charity and social enterprise, founded in 2003, that builds digital tools to make it easier for citizens to participate in democracy, hold governments accountable, and access public services. It operates on the principle that well-designed technology can reduce the friction between citizens and the state.
Its flagship platforms have become internationally deployed civic infrastructure:
- TheyWorkForYou — makes UK parliamentary proceedings searchable and accessible; tracks how MPs vote, what they say, and how often they attend
- FixMyStreet — a platform for reporting local infrastructure problems (potholes, broken streetlights) to the relevant council; licensed and deployed in 40+ countries
- WhatDoTheyKnow — simplifies Freedom of Information requests in the UK, with open-source versions (Alaveteli) running in over 25 jurisdictions globally
- Represent Boundaries — an API for looking up elected representatives by location
mySociety also conducts research on democratic participation, civic technology effectiveness, and government digital transformation. Its SayIt platform was used to publish the Leveson Inquiry transcripts and others.
The open-source Alaveteli software (powering WhatDoTheyKnow variants globally) is one of the most widely deployed civic transparency tools in the world.
Links
- Website: mysociety.org
- TheyWorkForYou: theyworkforyou.com
- FixMyStreet: fixmystreet.com
- WhatDoTheyKnow: whatdotheyknow.com
- Alaveteli: alaveteli.org