Policy Brief No.255: Testing Deliberative Technologies to Identify Optimal Use

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Deliberative technologies are software tools that help create large-scale dialogue among participants. This article outlines the experience of testing four of these tools—Crowdsmart, Pol.is, Talk to the City, and Deliberation.io—with a group of student volunteers to understand their function and effectiveness, and to identify digital facilitation strategies. The paper concludes with recommendations to make deliberative tools more accessible in the future to enable collective decision-making. Common Good AI, a US-based nonprofit organization, created this programme to support its mission to foster inclusive civic engagement and social cohesion. The organization aims to transform how communities find common ground and solve problems together.