I like it! A few points/questions/thoughts:
- How much is it intended to represent "what happens now" vs what a community-centred tech ecosystem could be? (there is the "Existing ecosystem" part on it, but not clear exactly what it refers to)
- if I understand it correctly, how we work in Karrot largely merges the Curator with the designer/developer boxes - and I personally like this model, to have a long term "in-house" team that understands and is responsible for the core infrastructure (in our case product development), and can still have a network/suite of agencies/studios/collectives that can be called on for other things
- accountability is a big topic to me, how to ensure accountability to the community, rather than the funder/curator/others? it is present there in that the community steers the research and design process, but wonder if there is space/interest for a stronger sense of accountability?
- I was looking at the tech4good south west theory of change (https://tech4goodsouthwest.org/theory-of-change), and in some way the CTP model could be a theory of change in itself, at the network level, and I could see a space for gfsc to be present in the CTP model itself too, as a guide for how to enact the model, and learn from other CTPs - although that might get more and more complex diagram! so, perhaps this point is more about "who is this diagram for, and what is the role of you/gfsc in the model?"
Generally though, I think it could be extremely useful for a community/network organiser who is trying to understand how to "deploy some tech" to support the community, especially if for each part you can then go and find actual people/orgs/tools/resources in alignment with the model.
I also wonder about some easy "low hanging fruit" steps for people trying to enact it, like "how do I just get a website with a list of things/events/orgs in the community?" as a first step... I met up with a local community co-ordinator in bath, who had heard of Karrot, but I thought it was pointless just to try and use it without understanding these needs, ... and they ended up with a normal kind of website from some agency, but perhaps not rooted in this deeper model.
Cheers,
Nick
On Wednesday, 19 March 2025 at 15:47, Kim Foale <kim@gfsc.studio> wrote:
OK I got a bit carried away (100% not procrastination I swear!)
Have attached a neat and tidy version of the diagram I shared in the meeting with more context.
Lemme know what you think! Next step is then writing out how to use it I think.
Kim
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