Below is a table of tools taken from a database that we’re developing in collaboration with other practitioners. It is by no means comprehensive or authoritative at this stage, but it hopefully gives a useful starting place.
Keep in mind that these are all engagement “tools”, not “solutions” — whatever some might claim. Your planning and preparation, and approach to using them, are at least as important as the tool you pick.
We’re going to be continuing to develop this database over the coming weeks and months. If you’d like to help, you can do so here.
| Name | What it's used for | Synchronous / Asynchronous | Web address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Connect | Video-conferencing | Synchronous | https://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html |
| Citizen Space | Commenting / feedback | Asynchronous | https://www.delib.net/citizen_space |
| CitizenLab | Ideas generation Video-conferencing Voting / prioritisation | Either | https://www.citizenlab.co |
| Cmnty | Discussion forum Ideas generation Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://www.cmnty.com/#how-it-works |
| Common Ground for Action | Discussion forum | Asynchronous | https://www.nifi.org/en/cga-online-forums |
| Commonplace | Commenting / feedback Crowd-mapping Ideas generation | Asynchronous | https://www.commonplace.is/ |
| Concept Board | Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard | Synchronous | conceptboard.com |
| Consider.it | Argument visualisation Commenting / feedback Decision-making | Asynchronous | https://consider.it/ |
| Consul | Ideas generation | Asynchronous | http://consulproject.org/en/ |
| Crowdspot | Crowd-mapping Ideas generation | Asynchronous | http://crowdspot.com.au |
| Deliberatorium | Argument visualisation Ideas generation | Asynchronous | http://deliberatorium.mit.edu:8000/ci/login? |
| Democracy OS | Decision-making Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | http://democracyos.org/ |
| Dialogue | Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://www.delib.net/dialogue |
| Discourse | Discussion forum | Either | https://www.discourse.org |
| Dropbox Paper | Co-drafting | Either | https://paper.dropbox.com/ |
| Election Buddy | Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://electionbuddy.com/ |
| Engagement HQ | Commenting / feedback Crowd-mapping Discussion forum Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Either | https://www.bangthetable.com/engagementhq-community-software |
| Ethelo | Decision-making Discussion forum Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Either | https://ethelo.com/t |
| Etherpad | Co-drafting | Either | https://etherpad.org |
| Facebook Groups | Discussion forum | Either | https://facebook.com |
| Flarum | Discussion forum | Either | https://flarum.org |
| FixMyStreet | Crowd-mapping | Asynchronous | https://www.fixmystreet.com |
| Gather | Video-conferencing | Synchronous | https://gather.town |
| Google Docs | Co-drafting | Either | https://docs.google.com/ |
| Google Forms | Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://docs.google.com/forms/ |
| GroupMap | Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard | Synchronous | https://www.groupmap.com |
| Ideaflip | Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard | Synchronous | https://ideaflip.com |
| Ideascale | Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://ideascale.com |
| iObeya | Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard | Synchronous | https://www.iobeya.com/en |
| Jamboard | Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard | Synchronous | https://jamboard.google.com |
| Joe Docs | Co-drafting Knowledgebase | Either | https://joedocs.com |
| Jitsi | Video-conferencing | Synchronous | https://jitsi.org |
| Konveio | Commenting / feedback | Asynchronous | https://konve.io |
| LifeSize | Video-conferencing | Synchronous | lifesize.com |
| Loomio | Decision-making Discussion forum Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://loomio.org |
| Mentimeter | Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation | Synchronous | https://www.mentimeter.com |
| Miro | Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard | Synchronous | https://miro.com |
| Nextdoor | Discussion forum | Either | https://nextdoor.co.uk |
| Notion | Knowledgebase | Asynchronous | https://www.notion.so/ |
| PlaceSpeak | Crowd-mapping Ideas generation | Asynchronous | https://www.placespeak.com/ |
| Pol.is | Argument visualisation Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://pol.is |
| Poll Everywhere | Voting / prioritisation | Synchronous | https://www.polleverywhere.com |
| Quip | Co-drafting | Either | https://quip.com |
| RankedVote | Voting / prioritisation | Either | https://www.rankedvote.co |
| Discussion forum | Either | https://www.reddit.com | |
| Slack | Discussion forum | Either | https://slack.com/ |
| Slido | Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation | Synchronous | https://www.sli.do |
| Social Pinpoint | Crowd-mapping Discussion forum Ideas generation | Asynchronous | https://www.socialpinpoint.com |
| Stack Overview | Discussion forum Knowledgebase | Asynchronous | https://stackoverflow.com |
| Stormz | Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://stormz.me/en |
| Survey Monkey | Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://www.surveymonkey.com/ |
| Teams | Video-conferencing | Synchronous | https://products.office.com/en-US/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software |
| The Hive | Crowd-mapping Discussion forum Ideas generation | Asynchronous | https://harvestdp.com |
| ThinkTank | Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Either | https://www.groupsystems.com/thinktank-consensus-automation |
| Typeform | Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://www.typeform.com/ |
| Unhangout | Discussion forum Video-conferencing | Synchronous | https://unhangout.media.mit.edu |
| Ushahidi | Crowd-mapping | Asynchronous | https://www.ushahidi.com |
| Voicevoice | Video-conferencing Voting / prioritisation | Synchronous | https://voicevoice.com |
| Whereby | Video-conferencing | Synchronous | https://whereby.com |
| Wisembly | Ideas generation Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation | Synchronous | https://wisembly.com/en/ |
| Your Priorities | Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation | Asynchronous | https://www.yrpri.org |
| Zilino | Discussion forum | Either | http://beta.zilino.com |
| Zoom | Video-conferencing | Synchronous |
|