Foundation

Each digitalisation is preceded by a large number of important decisions. These decisions are made consciously and unconsciously, but resound in all layers of the stack. The Public Stack uses four perspectives to make them explicit — and we use them to organise this foundation.

Starting Points — all stakeholders are involved and it is clear why we optimise. By questioning starting points and assumptions, and understanding the rationale behind technological initiatives, we know who to involve. For us, that begins with the member and the cause — and the technology arises from the enthusiasm to serve both.

Rights & Values — human rights are guaranteed and public values respected. Complying with fundamental human rights guarantees the rights of current and future people. For us, rights alone are not enough — we build the conditions under which they can actually be exercised, including controlling our own infrastructure. Without that, they're empty.

Governance — society as a whole keeps a grip on digitalisation. Democratising governance and supervision puts the people affected back in control. For us, that supervisor is the citizen herself — the stack is a commons, governed by the same principles the union already holds.

Socio-economic — the financial-economic model takes human and planet into account. Digitalisation must respect the boundaries of people and the planet, and be financed sustainably. For us, the labour of democratic tech produces positive externalities: we learn how to make the movement independent, not how to push up a vendor's bottom line.