We help people be active citizens

Established in 2003, mySociety is a not for profit group pioneering the use of online technologies to empower citizens to take their first steps towards greater civic participation.

We help people be active citizens with technology, research and data that individuals, journalists, and civil society can use, openly and for free.

Citizens make society

We believe that secure democracies and a strong civil society are vital to our common welfare, and that these only prosper when people meaningfully engage with their government and within their communities.

Our aim is to empower people everywhere to become informed and active citizens, able to fully participate in shaping the decisions that impact their lives, contribute to flourishing communities, and hold power to account wherever it may lie.

Our permanent UK based staff work across four interlinked practice areas: Transparency, Democracy, Climate and Community — each underpinned by research, sector building through TICTeC and appropriate commercial work via SocietyWorks.

What we care about

Almost two decades of working with a variety of individuals, community groups, campaigners and governments all around the world have helped us define the overarching values informing every aspect of our work and operations.

Justice

We are determined to hold power to account and we advocate for equitable and just outcomes. We seek to empower every sector of society, ensuring our services are inclusive and accessible for all. Enabling a society where all voices can be heard equally, we will prevent use of our services to propagate discrimination or abuse.

Within mySociety we uphold and promote diversity and equality, embracing flexible and remote working, thoughtful benefits, inclusive hiring policies and the opportunity to develop meaningful, properly recompensed careers.

Openness

Just as we advocate for transparency, we hold ourselves to the same standards. We conduct our work in public, sharing progress along the way, with code and data released under open licences. We undertake to be open, honest and accountable in our relationships with everyone we work with and for, and with each other.

Our work is politically non-partisan, evidence-based, accountable and open to scrutiny. We critique our own work and that of our sector honestly; we publish our references, won’t hide uncomfortable truths, and where we fall short we seek to rectify our mistakes promptly.

Collaboration

We are most successful when we work with partners, cooperating within wider systems of change and with the participation of citizens. For participation to be inclusive and accessible for all people requires the work of many hands and collaboration with groups and partners drawn from those communities.

As an organisation working internationally, we have partnerships with local actors that are built on experience, trust and aligned strategic goals. As a team we aim to be friendly and approachable; we foster a supportive environment for our staff, and nurture our relationships within the wider civic tech community.