LibTech began working in 2012 under the aegis of the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) with a seed grant from Google Charitable Giving. When the Stanford programme ended in 2016, the team continued under the banner of Collaborative Research and Dissemination (CORD) as a centre.
LibTech was one of the first organisations in India to use a mobile radio broadcast to improve the implementation and effectiveness of MGNREGA. LibTech used the broadcasts to share action-oriented messages that encouraged and empowered workers to use the provisions under MGNREGA, such as grievance-filing. The broadcasts were also used to share the crediting of wages in workers’ accounts, which reduced the last mile costs of accessing their wages. Further, LibTech also experimented with Facebook messenger bots and setting up complaint-forwarding systems.
In the past, we have worked in Sarguja block, Ambikapur district, Chhattisgarh with Chaupal; in Ghattu block, Mahbubnagar district, Telangana; with pension and MGNREGA officials in Rajasthan; and with the Rural Development department of Karnataka government.