How digital tools are reigniting civic engagement—A fireside chat with leaders from Think Rubix and Woke Vote

In the pivotal time leading up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, came a sense of urgency to introduce technology that could support organizers and equip voters of color with everything they needed to amplify their voices as the pandemic changed the rules of canvassing and campaigning.

Woke Vote and Work & Co partnered to launch a new site and all-in-one digital tool designed to help organizers activate others to vote and streamline the process of voting for the user.

Just over a year after launch, Work & Co Managing Director Tyesha Snow joined Thompson and Wilkerson to explore how the teams worked together to bring Woke Vote to life, and debate technology’s role in social innovation. They also shed light on new initiatives Think Rubix is spearheading through their engagement studio to help Black communities increase civic engagement, and ultimately revamp political landscapes through a lens of equity.

Their experiences and perspectives reveal not only the importance of their work but also the ways in which progress can be made—and is.

From the chat:

Mr. Wilkerson, on measuring impact related to social innovation:

“How we are measuring success has little to do with how many clients we work with, or how much money might be made. (Instead, we ask ourselves) is this creating the change we want to see in the world? Is it changing the conversation? Is this creating an opportunity for leaders and public policy and nonprofits? Is it igniting imagination around ways in which things can be done to create more opportunity for folks who have not had or not in proximity to it.”

Ms. Thompson, on the interdependence of digital products and community engagement:

“I would like to say that having the tools without having the relationship—there’s no meaning behind it. It doesn’t produce anything. But having the relationships and no tools is hard (to be effective.) We see a lot of organizations with a lot of opportunities missed because so many individuals who have the relationships and the skill but they don’t have proximity to the tools, resources, or strategy.”

See the full 60-minute fireside chat on Brand.live.