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In its first eight weeks, Neckarsulm resolved more than 60 of the first 100 issues submitted through its Go Vocal-powered reporting tool. Residents can report a problem in minutes, follow its status, and receive an update when it is resolved. What may look like a simple service tool has become a practical way to make participation part of everyday life.
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Getting thousands of residents involved in policy? For many local governments, that's still a challenge. Not for Goeree-Overflakkee. With one central participation platform, it now reaches a broad audience, on major policy decisions and local projects alike. What used to be fragmented and ad hoc has grown into a structured approach that makes participation visible, accessible, and scalable.
11,500+ participants. 100+ projects. Amstelveen and Aalsmeer transformed the way they work—from fragmented town hall meetings and scattered tools to one central platform where residents share ideas, feel involved, and help shape policy. With Go Vocal, they built a strong, scalable participation culture.
After seven years of using the same systems, the London Borough of Southwark conducted a technical audit to see if their digital engagement was at the cutting edge. After a detailed procurement process, Go Vocal came out on top. With benefits like AI analysis, built-in reporting, and all the tools for the job in one place, the intuitive platform has improved their efficiency almost twofold.
When the London Borough of Lambeth reviewed its community engagement practices, they identified a critical challenge: fragmentation. Teams across the council were using multiple tools without a central system to coordinate efforts or share insights. After carefully evaluating their options, Lambeth switched to Go Vocal, a decision that has already proven beneficial for their small but dedicated team.
Linz (204,846 inhabitants), Austria's third-biggest city, is known for its baroque architecture, its museums, its centre for electronic arts… and its actions in digital democracy. In 2019, the city launched a new participation platform to widen the scope of public engagement, allowing citizens to participate on any topic, from anywhere, at any time.
The South Holland city of Waddinxveen is the fastest-growing city in the Netherlands and today counts nearly 35,000 residents. 30% of them are under 25, and by 2050 that share will reach 40%. This demographic trend raised a pressing question for the city: how do you involve even the youngest residents in decisions about the future? Esther van Ellinkhuizen, staff member for cabinet affairs and child participation, explains how she does it.
Havant Borough, like many local authorities across the UK, prioritises fostering inclusive and equitable engagement with its residents. However, data dispersion across systems hindered comprehensive analysis, making it difficult to assess the true representativeness of participating residents. By co-developing a Power BI integration with Go Vocal, Havant Borough can now capitalise on the full potential of its data, paving the way for more inclusive and well-informed decision-making processes.
Faced with the daunting task of allocating $250 million as part of the Rams settlement fund, the City of St. Louis and the Board of Aldermen embarked on an ambitious digital community engagement strategy to involve residents in the fund allocation process from the start.
Cambridge experienced first-hand the power of Go Vocal's AI assistant in the analysis of open-ended text responses during their Design Code consultation for northern Cambridge neighbourhoods. Discover how it helped the team save 10 precious hours and opened the door for including more free-text questions in future consultations, enriching the depth and quality of community engagement.
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In August 2023, the City of Copenhagen took a bold step forward on their participatory democracy journey with a new community engagement initiative: encouraging residents to submit proposals for city improvement projects.
INJUV, Chile’s National Youth Institute, is a public institution that collaborates with the government in designing policies related to youth affairs. To give millennials across the country the chance to voice their ideas on local community development, INJUV launched an online platform in the winter of 2019.
With a population of around 94,000, the Stirling Council area sits right in the heart of Scotland. When the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves to communities around the world, Stirling Council found itself with a conundrum: how could they get valuable community input without in-person meetings?
With around 300,000 residents, Newham is one of the biggest and most diverse boroughs in London, so it should be no surprise that it’s not new to community engagement. In fact, Newham’s recent leadership has prioritized involving residents and creating a more participatory democracy, including via a dedicated Resident Engagement and Participation team.
Ghent, known for its beautiful market squares and stunning medieval city center, is the capital of the Belgian province of East-Flanders. With more than 260,000 inhabitants, Ghent charmingly combines the hustle and bustle of a bigger city with a small town’s cozy atmosphere.
Participatory budgeting is one of the most popular forms of citizen consultation. More than just a buzzword, the tool is used by elected officials who want to make public governance more accessible and transparent. Far from applying a generic formula, each community creates its own process based on its own reality.
Located just outside Amsterdam, Amstelveen is working with residents to create a greener, more welcoming, and more inclusive city. Through its online participation platform, residents can help shape long-term plans for the city, contribute to the design of new neighbourhoods, and share ideas for smaller improvements that can make a visible difference in everyday life.
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In Rijswijk, a municipality of around 57,000 residents in South Holland, lies a place with a remarkable history. At Hof van Sion, archaeologists discovered the remains of a monastery dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, Hof van Sion is part of RijswijkBuiten, a sustainable new neighbourhood. When the municipality decided to create a new community meeting place there, it asked residents what they wanted to see. They shared their ideas online using an interactive map.
Newham recently evaluated their Community Assemblies initiative, now known as People Powered Places. This article outlines a summary of the report’s key insights and ideas for future improvement. Read on to kindle fresh ideas for invigorating engagement within your own community!
Newham recently evaluated their Community Assemblies initiative, now known as People Powered Places. This article outlines a summary of the report’s key insights and ideas for future improvement. Read on to kindle fresh ideas for invigorating engagement within your own community!
The climate crisis is forcing governments around the globe to reassess and change direction. Vienna, the capital of Austria, is no exception. The city – famous for its baroque streetscapes and imperial palaces – aims to be climate-neutral by 2040 and is therefore prioritizing climate and sustainability projects. Since 2022, the Vienna Climate Team has been actively engaging residents in a collaborative and inclusive effort to shape a sustainable climate future together. Let’s explore what their participation project has achieved to this day!
Havant Borough embarked on an ambitious journey to involve residents in creating its Local Plan: “Building a Better Future”. Apart from getting valuable insights from as many people as possible, the team also wanted to set the stage for continuous engagement. By leveraging the CitizenLab platform, Havant was able to set up a more collaborative, inclusive, and efficient process.
Is a public consultation on a topic as sensitive as waste collections a recipe for disaster? It doesn’t have to be. Wokingham Borough Council proves that with well-designed engagement and communication strategies, you don’t need to fear getting overwhelmed by a flood of – potentially negative – reactions. Here’s how their team made a public consultation on a new waste collection strategy a success.
On the edge of Paris in Val-de-Marne, Charenton-le-Pont is a quiet city of 31,000 residents. Sitting where the Marne meets the Seine, right by the Bois de Vincennes, it has everything it needs to become a hub for cycling and other active mobility. And what better way to get there than consulting residents to co-build a well-oiled bike plan?
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