Go Vocal: a source-available platform
Making our source code available means more communities can access, inspect, and trust the platform powering their democratic processes.
Making our source code available means more communities can access, inspect, and trust the platform powering their democratic processes.
Democracy belongs to all of us, and we believe that the algorithms shaping our institutions should be visible to everyone. By making our source code publicly available, we put our values into practice — strengthening trust through transparency.
As a certified B Corp, we also reinvest our profits into R&D — not shareholder returns. We're not here to make money off democracy. We see profit as fuel for innovation. We also build with our clients, not just for them. The communities and governments we work with have a direct voice in shaping our roadmap.
The vast majority of local governments we work with don't self-host their participation platforms — and most never have. They rely on managed SaaS services, and the sovereignty that matters to them isn't the ability to compile and run source code. It's the ability to trust that the technology governing their democratic processes is built ethically, maintained reliably, and developed with their interests at the centre.
That's exactly what Go Vocal is built around. We hold certifications in accessibility, security, and the responsible handling of personal data — because real accountability means meeting the highest standards, not just making code available.
Go Vocal adopts a so-called open-core model, which means that there are two product editions available. The first edition is Go Vocal’s Free Edition includes some core functionalities, freely available under the AGPLv3 license. This edition is designed for small organizations that have the technical expertise to run the code on their own servers.
The second edition is Go Vocal’s Commercial Edition, including extra features described under Standard/Premium. The source code is also available on Github, but can only be used through a paid commercial license. This edition is your best option if you plan to run many engagement projects, in order to have access to more back-office functionalities and manage your platform efficiently. We offer it under a Software-as-a-service subscription.