A multitude of government services, civil society initiatives and community engagement projects have

migrated online over the last 15 years. Online tools for engagement (‘civic technologies’ to use sectoral

parlance) have matured and multiplied to enable citizens to communicate with, and receive information

from, varying levels of government, with the ultimate aim of repositioning the power balance between the

individual and the institution. Many such digital tools are warmly welcomed by individuals and organisations

with the skills and expertise to understand their potential, to appreciate their scalability, and to embrace

their use. Such tools are designed and implemented with the intention of being ‘individual blind’ – there

should theoretically be no barriers to their use if designed with usability as a priority, and the fact that they

are online should enable universal access. There are, however, significant imbalances in the use of civic

technologies in the UK. Preliminary research carried out by mySociety evidences strong biases towards

older, affluent, white-British identifying males. These individuals are fundamentally those already

exhibiting high levels of personal and political efficacy, and whilst civic technology is for all, its

disproportionate use by one homogenous group within society has the potential to distort the government’s

perception of public needs and public attitudes.