Toby Abel

Toby Abel is the Founder of the Open Council Network, an initiative aimed at making local government decision-making more accessible to citizens. He is recognized for his work in leveraging technology to enhance civic engagement and transparency in governance.

Background and Education

• Education: Toby studied at the University of Oxford, which has equipped him with a strong analytical foundation that he applies in his entrepreneurial ventures.
• Career: He is a serial entrepreneur and has held various roles in technology, including serving as the founding CTO of Krzana, a company focused on developing AI tools for newsgathering.23

Contributions

• At the Open Council Network, Toby's efforts focus on improving how local governments interact with their communities, utilizing AI and other technologies to transcribe council meetings, extract relevant data, and generate summaries. This initiative aims to empower citizens by providing them with clearer insights into local governance processes.12

Online Presence

• Toby is active on LinkedIn under the username tobyabel, where he has over 500 connections, reflecting his extensive professional network.2

His work continues to impact how technology intersects with public policy and community engagement.