Where: Emerson College Library. 120 Boylston St. 3rd floor

When: January 30, 2020. 4:00-6:00pm

Public trust in the institutions that mediate civic life —from governing bodies to newsrooms—is low, and many organizations assume that greater efficiency will build trust. As a result, these organizations are quick to adopt new technologies to enhance what they do. However, efficiency, in the sense of charting a path to a goal with the least amount of friction, is not always built on a foundation of trust. Meaningful Inefficiencies is about the practices that challenge the normative applications of "smart technologies" in order to build or repair trust with publics.Based on over sixty interviews with change makers in public serving organizations throughout the United States, as well as detailed case studies, co-authors Eric Gordon and Gabriel Mugar provide a practical and deeply philosophical picture of civic life in transition. Meaningful Inefficiencies describes an emergent approach to creating civic life at a moment when smart and efficient are the dominant forces in social and organizational change.

More information about the book can be found on the Oxford University Press site.

Refreshments will be served.