What is Newspeak House?
“It's a factory which produces transformational ideas, people, and action - the beating heart of the UK's technology and democracy scene”
Head of Policy at The Royal Society
Fellow of Newspeak House
“The first time I came to Newspeak House, I got ideas, tools, and contacts that two years later helped us deliver the highest effect ever recorded in a randomized control trial on voter turnout. I have never come across a place with a greater concentration of big new insights, practical expertise, processing power, and a focus on democracy over profit.”
Founder of Turnout Nation
Member of Newspeak House
“Everyone in the UK who has any interest in tech mixed with politics, government, journalism or social change should spend time here ASAP”
Founder of mySociety
Member of Newspeak House
Newspeak House, The London College of Political Technology, is an independent residential college founded in 2015. Our mission is to study, nurture and inspire emerging communities of practice across civil society and the public sector in the UK.
Newspeak House has two core activities; it hosts a busy calendar of events at its campus in central London, as well as a one year residential programme for emerging leaders in the field. Those who have graduated from the residential programme - over 80 now - become Fellows of Newspeak House, and can be found in significant positions across many prominent institutions.
If you would like to visit the college and find out more about its work, the residents host a weekly community dinner called Ration Club. To find out more or if you'd like to attend, please register.
What is Political Technology?
Society is made up of an ecosystem of institutions, and the sum of their actions shape the world that we live in. For better or for worse, these actions are deeply influenced by the infrastructures that they choose to use - they determine what is measured, what is decided, and what can be done. What infrastructures lead to what outcomes? How are these choices made, and by whom? How can we create new technologies that lead to the social outcomes that we want?
Political Technology is the study of institutions founded with a purpose (civic, political, public sector, charitable, activist, etc), the communities that surround them, and in particular the novel digital infrastructures that they produce and deploy. This is a diverse and dynamic field that is affecting society in complex ways. To give an idea of the range and variety of projects, some examples:
Wikidata, do-gooder, Organise, FullFact Automated Fact Checking, Open Referral, PolicyKit, GlobaLeaks, OA.Works, Polis, Prediction Markets, Sci-Hub, CrowdJustice, Loomio, They Work For You, Alaveteli, Open Collective, Quadratic Vote, Maltego, OpenSanctions, CKAN, Aragon, CoTech, Notify, Turn2us Benefits Calculator, Humanitarian Data Exchange, CharityBase, Teaching Public Service in the Digital Age, CASM, Democracy Club, 360Giving, LittleSis, Perspective, Who Targets Me?, Turkopticon, PolicyMogul, Aequitas, Bluesky, Self-sovereign Identity, 12ft, Overton, Coral, Kialo, Matrix.
Newspeak House is a home for people working on or studying projects like these. By bringing these important communities together, we hope to support the growth and sophistication of this new field.
If this sounds like you, consider studying with us!
For more examples of projects, take a look at: @lcptuk
Faculty & Staff
Edward Saperia
[email protected] • @edsaperia • newsletter
Edward is dean of Newspeak House, responsible for setting its research direction as well as the day-to-day running of the college. His area of study is infrastructure for organising and network development, and he spends his time trying to connect up bits of civil society, or making tools to do so: chair Centre for Democracy , board member Compass , curator LCPT Library , steward docs.plus , co-author Reorganise , co-founder Data Collective , co-founder Tech for Good Organisers Network , founder Environmental Permit Data Service (coming soon!)
Dr Zarinah Agnew
[email protected] • zarinahagnew.com • @zarinahagnew
Zarinah is a neuroscientist by training. After spending over a decade in academia, they left to study the science of groups of brains - that is, humans in collectivity.
Alongside their work with the college, Zarinah runs three nonprofits aimed at experimental aspects of society, collective transformation and para-institutions. The Social Science Observatory is dedicated to the study of social science in the wild, Alternative Justices works towards abolitionist community-based harm prevention and response, and District Commons engineers experimental spaces where humans can ‘be otherwise’. Together, these strands allow both the prefiguration of new social configurations, as well as the study of their transformational potential.
Stephanie Sherman
[email protected] • stephaniesherman.info • @detectiveyes
Stephanie is a design director, strategist, writer, and producer working across urbanism, technology, and culture.
She is director of the MA Narrative Environments program at Central Saint Martin’s, collaborates with The UC San Diego Center for Design and Geopolitics and Design Lab Automation Team, and the future of work thinktank Autonomy.
She is co-founder of Elsewhere and Common Field , and has taught at Strelka Institute Moscow, Neon Foundation Athens, Sandberg Institute Amsterdam, Cambridge University, Bauhaus University Weimar, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Institut Hyperwerk Switzerland, and CCA San Francisco.
Declan Pattison
Declan is head of facilities at Newspeak House, responsible for the material components of the building and event production. He comes from a background in touring theatre, puppetry, and education. If something is leaking or on fire, let him know!
Mark Wainwright
[email protected] • onespiritinterfaithministers.com/mark-wainwright
Mark is chaplain of Newspeak House, responsible for psycho-spiritual wellbeing of its community. He trained with the OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation, and also works in a hospital chaplaincy, providing a sensitive and non-judgemental listening presence to patients and families. He is available to talk confidentially to Newspeak House residents and fellows on pastoral or almost any other subjects.
Sam Ballard
@baronblackmore • sunlightafterdark.com
Introducing Newspeak House's artist in residence. Sam Ballard is a multidisciplinary digital designer, specializing in crafting intuitive and engaging digital experiences. Sam puts the fellows' visions to paper, whether it's in the form of a website, branding, illustration, animation, or game; If it's 2d and digital, they can make it.