Welcome! This blog is the my home online and the place where I balance the different projects I am working on and thinking about.
In the real world I am the CEX of Adur and Worthing Councils as well as the current Chair of the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny. I am also a trustee of the Democratic Society.
If you are looking for my professional bio then you need to head over to LinkedIn . I still lurk occasionally on Twitter / X as @curiousc but I am increasingly moving away from that space as it seems to become more toxic. I do parallel publish to Medium where you can find me here.
Generally everything I do involves looking at digital, democracy and social change and how we can actively influence this in a way which reflects our values and the way we want to live our lives – I am a technologist who is trying to make sure we leave space for humans. I am increasingly interested in the spaces between participation and democracy as well as how we create civic spaces online. I am also thinking a lot about organisational design at the moment and how it could / should work as part of system change.
This blog was started in 2008 as an action research diary to support my PHD and other research. It still serves that purpose but has also become the place where I ‘think in public’ and try to capture the events, literature and conversations that influence my thinking. This blog is also the place where I am trying to balance my dual roles of practitioner and researcher.
I think of this as a hybrid existence which brings both aspects of what I do into each other and intermingles them in a positive way. I think practice is stronger for having a rigorous research approach behind it and research is strengthened by access to direct action and experience.
It should be noted that this is my personal blog and should not be taken as the views of my employer.