Connected People and Places

Essays exploring how communities work with technology and innovation to shape better places

Innovation happens everywhere. These essays by community innovators show how technologies can help strengthen democracy, create community wealth and enable us to take better care of each other.

The Essays

  • An illustration showing two hands high-fiving in a yellow circle

    Foreword

    Tim Davies Pugh, CEO of Power To Change, on thriving places.

  • A purple circle with white lines and an envelope

    Introduction: Creating Value that Sticks to Place

    Rachel Coldicutt And Anna Dent on community tech and social capital.

  • A blue circle with an illustration of a graph in the middle

    Realising the Power of Place-Based Community Innovation in the UK

    Rachel Coldicutt on the of human-scale innovation in the UK’s social and economic recovery.

  • A pink circle with purple nodes connected in a circle

    How Can We Create Community Alternatives to Big Tech Infrastructures?

    A discussion led by by Cassie Robinson.

  • An illustration showing a group of people in small circular nodes, with icons showing that they are chatting on devices

    Participatory Community Technology

    Bianca Wylie on funding meaningful control and governance of technology.

  • AN ILLUSTRATION SHOWING TWO PEOPLE CHATTING

    Interview with Wings, Ethical Delivery Coop

    A discussion with Rich Mason and Ben Jacob.

  • A hand holding a ringing smartphone

    Gebiedonline: Community Tech in Practice

    Ruurd Priester introduces this cooperatively owned community platform

  • Interview with Community Care Connect, the Community-Powered Homecare Platform

    A discussion with Julia Darby

  • An open laptop shows a bar chart

    Watershed and the Pervasive Media Studio

    Dr Furaha Asani introduces this model of place-based creativity and innovation in Bristol

Blog

Visit our library of blog posts from thought leaders and key players in the emerging field of Community Tech.

Community Tech

This publication is part of Promising Trouble and Power to Change’s work on Community Tech. Community tech is technology built with, by and for communities, that is locally accountable and creates local value. Find out more in our first report, and blogposts, and you can sign up to the mailing list here. Don't forget to tick the box to say you're interested in community tech updates!

The Power to Change Community Tech fund is now live. Find out more about the application process.

For queries about the fund and Power to Change's work, please email communitytech@powertochange.org.uk. If you would like to get involved in our research and the Community Tech network email hello@promisingtrouble.net or follow us on twitter @carefultrouble.