Transparency
Check our work. Please.
An initiative that recommends transparency to others had better be an easy test case of it. This page is the standing answer to fair questions about money, governance, and influence.
How this project is accountable
- Funding
- Currently self-funded by project volunteers. No outside contributions have been accepted. If that changes, every source will be listed here.
- Legal status
- The project is not yet an incorporated organization, and it is not a registered nonprofit. Because of that, gifts to it are not tax-deductible, and we are not asking for donations right now. When we take the steps to change that, this page will say so plainly before any money is accepted.
- Governance
- An independent, resident-led initiative in its founding phase, founded by Matthew “Paz” Pasley, a Sisters resident, technologist, parent, and community volunteer. Paz runs the project on a volunteer basis. The Civic Design Lab charter, including its advisory-only role, is published in full.
- Conflicts of interest
- None identified to date. Contributors disclose any financial interest in land, businesses, or contracts touched by Lab work, and disclosures are published with the relevant project.
- Political activity
- The project is nonpartisan. It does not endorse candidates, fund campaigns, or coordinate with political organizations.
- Review status
- Research briefs are drafted by Lab studios and published for the community to challenge. Independent expert review is invited, and it gets noted on each brief where it has happened.
Last updated: July 2026
Trust labels
What our labels actually mean
Every piece of work on this site carries one of these labels. The rule behind them is simple: an aspirational proposal must never be dressed up as adopted public policy.
A long-range aspiration. Not costed, not scheduled, not decided.
A specific idea offered for community critique. A starting point, not a plan of record.
Evidence-gathering in progress. Findings are published with sources and uncertainty.
A cheap, reversible real-world test, measured and reported.
Actively collecting resident knowledge and opinion.
Adopted by an accountable public body. This is the only label that means policy.
Concluded or set aside. Kept public as part of the record.
Standing commitments
What we will always publish
- Research briefs and their sources
- Project status and results
- Budgets and spending
- Funding sources
- Conflicts of interest
- Meeting summaries
- Prototype outcomes, including failures
- Annual progress reports
Is something missing from this page that a resident deserves to know? That is itself a finding. Tell us and we’ll publish the answer here.