Growing a Global Citizen Participation Platform
CitizenLab has emerged as one of the leading platforms in the global market for citizen participation tools. We spoke to CEO Wietse Van Ransbeeck about his thoughts on growth and the future of the industry.
Read more
Building Democracy Technology as a Non-Profit Organisation
'Your Priorities' is developed by the Icelandic Citizens Foundation and was recently rated the top platform by People Powered. We spoke to Foundation president Robert Bjarnason about how they operate and the future of the platform.
Read more
Scan a QR-Code and Participate – The Story of PLACEm
Interview | PLACEm, an easy-to-use, location-based participation app is a finalist in the Innovation in Politics Awards in the category of Democracy Technologies. Gregor Dehmel co-founded Politik zum Anfassen, which published PLACEm. We talked to him about his experiences in the project, from hiring developers to bringing the app to the users.
Read more
Finding Shelter, Voting on Petitions and More – The Kyiv Digital App
In 2018, city leaders agreed on an ambitious plan to digitise Kyiv. A twenty-one-point transformation plan was created, including everything from cyber security to big data. The Kyiv Digital app was part of this broader push to digitise, aimed specifically at increasing accessibility for citizens. To date, the app has over 2 million downloads out […]
Read more
Democracy Technologies at the Innovation in Politics Awards Convention
On 11 May, leaders and political innovators from across Europe will gather at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw for this year’s Innovation in Politics Awards. This year they are held as a day-long convention with a special focus on Democracy Technologies.
Read more
ACTE – Fighting for the Recognition of the Civic Tech Market
The Brussels-based Association Civic Tech Europe (ACTE) was founded in December 2019 to represent organisations developing civic and citizen-oriented technological solutions (civic tech) at the European level. Democracy Technologies talked to ACTE President Adrien Duguet.
Read more
By the Youth, for the Youth – Barcelona’s Democracy Experiment
Barcelona has a dedicated citizen’s assembly and has had a specialist team within the city council, Active Democracy (Democracia Activ), for the last 8 years. Democracy Technologies spoke with two members of this team – Orlando Blasco Aleu and Inma Rodriguez Sanchez. Both of whom were involved in the youth participation process, Barcelona Youth Forum. […]
Read more
People Powered Launches Updated Ratings on Digital Participation Platforms
Yesterday saw the release of People Powered’s latest Digital Participatory Platforms Ratings, via digital launch event. We joined in to hear the latest, see the results and learn about the process.
Read more
Casting the Net Wider: Urban Planning in Vienna
“They have to get rid of the cars.” For one passerby in Vienna’s Gumpendorfer Straße, interviewed on local TV station WTV, the key to solving the street’s problems is clear. Lined with cafés, bars, cinemas, and shops, Gumpendorfer Straße cuts a jagged course east to west through the lively sixth district, an area known for […]
Read more
Bringing Private Sector Innovations to Government
Michael Mascioni recently published his book "Reinventing Government Through Political Entrepreneurship and Exponential Innovation". He talked to us about how innovation strategies and tools could be adapted from the private sector to the public sector, why he uses the term crowdsourcing rather than participation, and about gamification in government.
Read more
Upgrades, Allocations and Destabilisations
CitizenLab releases a new feature, journalists reveal anti-democratic operations and participatory budgets in the US set for a huge boost.
Read more
Will Strategic Trolling Affect Digital Participatory Democracy?
Disinformation has long infected discourse in digital spaces. But with the digitisation of participatory processes, is there a risk that this affects democratic outcomes directly?
Read more
Climate Democracy – Can Participatory Approaches Help Tackle the Tough Decisions Ahead?
Climate change policy requires citizen participation. The Climate Democracy Action (CDA) by People Powered seeks to prepare its participants to make that happen. Clara Bois, Program Manager at People Powered explains how.
Read more
Citizens’ Assemblies: Not Made to Legislate?
Ireland has used citizens assemblies to initiate constitutional reform on issues including abortion and same-sex marriage. But how much power do the assemblies really have?
Read more
Behind the Scenes on Open Source Democracy Technology
We decided to shine a light on the motivations, challenges and views, of some of the dedicated open source developers who spend countless hours building and bug-fixing the democratic tools and platforms of the future.
Read more