Within the framework of the Digital Product School, a team of students developed an AI-based citizen participation portal. Fütürize wants to create a direct channel of communication between city administration, politicians and citizens.
The portal wants to make it possible for citizens to have direct contact with their city administration. The data is presorted, summarized and prioritized for the administration staff with algorithms. The aim is to allow administrative staff and politicians to gain an authentic idea of the atmosphere in the city, to make strategic decisions and to react to their residents’ pressing needs.
“We have a vision of a democracy that is actively shaped by citizens,”
said Fütürize Product Manager Martina Preis.
“Local authorities would like to give their citizens a convenient channel of communication, but are afraid of the flood of information that might rain down on them.”
Fütürize’s portal is meant to work in both directions
The platform informs citizens in real time about the current status of their feedback. They also find out if their concern has been put in a larger pool for evaluation or if it has been forwarded directly to the relevant authority. The company said that tests have already shown that users are patient as long as they can always check the status of their feedback.
The platform is meant to work in both directions: City administrations would also be able to reach their citizens regardless of demography or background. An example would be asking residents targeted questions about a specific construction project. Citizens can decide whether or not they would like to send feedback with their name or anonymously. In evaluations for city administrations, all data is anonymized.