Andy Parkhouse

Delib is a digital democracy company, founded in 2001 in a fit of frustration at outdated general election practices that failed (and still do) to take into account the democratic decisions that actually affect citizens. Democracy doesn’t just stop after a general election. It’s everywhere, every day. The problem was that citizens either didn’t know how to access it, or had to jump through so many hoops to take part that it just wasn’t worth their time. Why on Earth were organisations still using such outdated, inaccessible processes when there was this marvellous thing called the internet at their disposal? Which is where Delib comes in. We look at democratic processes that aren’t functioning properly, and design digital products that make them work for an internet age. Our technology is created with the dual intent of making democracy accessible for citizens beyond the ballot box, and simplifying the process of engaging with citizens in everyday democratic decisions. By lowering the barrier to entry, the process of participation becomes more convenient, meaningful and representative for citizens as as well as governments, because that’s what democracy’s all about, right? We’ve got three products to help with three different democratic processes. These are: Citizen Space, our flagship consultation platform; Simulator, a deliberative prioritisation tool for getting the public involved in complex decision-making; and Dialogue, a crowdsourcing platform for constructive conversations online. Our products are in use by 160+ governments bodies around the world. Delib’s customers have run consultations and engagement activities on everything from planning for the impacts of climate change, to setting policing priorities, to historical constitutional issues like the Scottish Independence Referendum.