Constructing and Deconstructing Public Interest Technology: Insights from the Development of ORBIT

Presented by Swinburne’s Social Innovation Research Institute and La Trobe University. Public interest technologies put people and society at the centre of our technological choices and strive to ensure that the benefits of technology are widely shared. However, there is limited understanding in Australia of the notion of public interest technology. In particular, there are few opportunities for academics interested in public interest technology to observe and learn from the development of technologies designed to serve the public good. In this workshop, we draw on the experience of Professor Greg Murray, who led the development of ORBIT (Online Recovery- focused Bipolar Individual Tool), an online, guided self-help intervention that aims to improve quality of life in people with late- stage bipolar disorder. The audience will see a concrete example of a technology for public good, allowing researchers to gain insight into the process by which this technology was developed and is being evaluated.