Civio

A group of nine journalists and software developers with an activist spirit founded Civio, a non-profit organisation that works for transparency in administration and in public information. The organisation uses journalism, technology and advocacy as it acts as a lobbyist to propose and achieve legal changes. The team also goes to court to demand public information. Its motto is "journalism and action to monitor the public sphere".Its proudest achievement is to have influenced the Spanish Public Contracts Act. The organisation made proposals that were incorporated into the law, including the transparency of the entire process; ensuring that the identity of the bidders is known; and the creation of an independent control system. "If a small team can have such an impact on a legislative process, imagine what large companies or lobbies can do," communications manager Javier de Vega says.Civio was born in 2012 with the savings of its two founders, a software developer and an economist. They began developing data access and visualisation tools so that citizens could access public information. "Civio's differential value was to be an organisation that wanted to inform and involve citizens, convince them to exercise their right to scrutinise governments, and help them to do so," De Vega says.The organisation sees information as a public service, so it offers it without cost or paywall, opinion pieces or advertising interests. Its sources of income are grants from the European Union and other organisations, consultancy to public administrations, and its 1,400 members."It's easier to get funding for our technical tools projects than for journalism," De Vega confesses.Civio and its journalists have received more than 23 awards, including the 2022 Rey de España Award for Best Ibero-American Media, the 2019 Data Journalism Award and the 2016 Gabo Award for journalism innovation.