Post #1794035

2026-03-16 10:58 UTC

@Wtebbens @fkinstitute the answer isn't just having the right idea, though. That has been clear for at least a few years (thanks in large part to your efforts, which are deeply appreciated!) I see so many people who get it and are ready to build (or already building) what you call for but very little higher-order support—training, consultation, incubation, etc. Whose resources will help make the space for these ideas to go from experiments to sustainable initiatives? We can't just bootstrap it.

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@Wtebbens@social.coop 2026-03-16 11:16

Hi @arod, thanks for the compliment! And I very much agree with you. We need to unite forces between grassroots commoners and cooperativists with institutional support, such as public and private funders. That is precisely what we're working towards with the setting up of the Democratic Tech Fund. We think this logic - and our shared values - should be anchored in its foundations, before we can accept such funds to multiply our seed funding. We cannot "just" bootstrap it - there lies the challenge. Any help to connect the dots, also with the institutions willing to multiply our collective effort, is much appreciated. Let us say that we need to go beyond the neoliberal public-private partnerships: we need civic-public-private partnerships, on our terms. #DTF #DemocraticTechFund

Open ##1794036