  Technologies are increasingly enrolled in projects to involve civilians in
the work of policy-making, often under the label of 'civic technology'. But
conventional forms of participation through transactions such as voting provide
limited opportunities for engagement. In response, some civic tech groups
organize around issues of shared concern to explore new forms of democratic
technologies. How does their work affect the relationship between publics and
public servants?
  This paper explores how a Civic Tech Toronto creates a platform for civic
engagement through the maintenance of an autonomous community for civic
engagement and participation that is casual, social, nonpartisan, experimental,
and flexible. Based on two years of action research, including community
organizing, interviews, and observations, this paper shows how this grassroots
civic tech group creates a civic platform that places a diverse range of
participants in contact with the work of public servants, helping to build
capacities and relationships that prepare both publics and public servants for
the work of participatory democracy.
  The case shows that understanding civic tech requires a lens beyond the mere
analysis or production of technical artifacts. As a practice for making
technologies that is social and participatory, civic tech creates alternative
modes of technology development and opportunities for experimentation and
learning, and it can reconfigure the roles of democratic participants.
