What is Localocracy?

Localocracy is an online platform for civic engagement, community organizing, and local democracy.

For citizens:
Localocracy is a way to have a voice in local government, connect with their neighbors, and take action on the issues that matter.

For civic leaders:
Localocracy is a way to assess how the community really feels, efficiently manage public participation, and make more informed decisions with better qualitative and quantitative data.

For media organizations:
Localocracy is a way to cover the stories that matter most in a community in greater depth, to source information and quotes from a broader slice of the population, and increase audience engagement on site.

How does it work?

Localocracy provides communities with a website where residents can cast virtual votes on issues, ask and answer questions, rank the best reasons for supporting their side, and take or demand action. In some communities, this page is on localocracy.org, in others, the platform is embedded in a local news site. There are dozens of blogs and forums and static pages online where people can talk about local issues, but Localocracy can gives users a way to actually influence what happens in the real world through the following characteristics:

Identity: We confirm that user are members of the community using real names. Currently we require that all users are registered voters in the community and confirm identity using the voter registration records. Localocracy is a public space, we have found that the quality of contributions is dramatically improved when people must stand behind what they say.

Neutrality: We believe you only get close to solving a problem when you can identify the best points from opposite perspectives on any issue. On our platform, users comment only after they vote, and are asked to rank the top reasons for taking their position. This way, users who are new to the issue can quickly see the most important information from both sides.

Instead of traditional comment threads where you have to scroll through hundreds of comments to find the best information, or have to go to a dozen sites to find the full story, Localocracy lets you sort through the clutter, and find the best content first, see opposing views in the same space, and burst through echo bubbles.

If you would like to see an example of a Localocracy issue from our beta test in Amherst Ma, click here

Accountability: We encourage local governments to take an active role in soliciting feedback from the citizens, and allow them to post their questions directly to the community, and mark their interaction with the site as “official.”

In communities where the relevant members of local government are not yet involved, Localocracy gives users the ability to send issues to the relevant officials, and recruit officials (and other community members) to answer questions, defend their position, or post an official reaction to a vote.

Where do issues come from?

Issues currently come from one of two places: Members of the community, and members of local government or community moderators.

Any confirmed member of a localocracy (currently that means registered voter) can propose an issue in that community through our Proposals feature. During the proposal phase, other members of the community can revise the proposal to ensure neutral point of view and make sure there is sufficient information and clarity for others to weigh in. When users feel an issue is ready to be published, they may “ratify” the current draft. After a proposal receives enough “ratifications” it is published as an issue.

The number of ratifications required is based on the number of registered voters in a community:
Less than 20,000: 10 ratification
Between 20,000-50,000: 20 ratification
Over 50,000s: 30 ratifications

Members of local government who are using localocracy pro from public participation have the ability to publish issues on demand. These issues are marked with the relevant official and relevant government department.

In beta communities, an assigned community moderator, either from the town, from Localocracy staff, or from a partnering media institution will also have the ability to publish issues directly.

How does a localocracy launch? How do I get one for my town?

To launch a localocracy, a community must recruit a threshold of members to an initial beta.

For communities with less than 20,000 residents: 50 users
For communities with between 20-50,000 residents: 75 users
For communities with between 50-100,000 residents: 100 users

You can recruit your neighbors to the site using our launchpad. You can request a launchpad by suggesting your community here

We are not currently launching in cities with more than 100,000 residents, you can attempt to launch a localocracy in your neighborhood however.

Why .org and not .com? Are you for-profit or non-profit?

We are a mission driven for-profit. We are a .org the same way change.org and craigslists.org are.

How do you generate revenue? Who pays for this?

Localocracy partners with news and media organizations to help them expand their hyperlocal coverage beyond what their traditional reporting base can cover. If we have partnered with a media organization in your community you will likely find our platform embedded in their website. We believe that civic information is an essential part of civic action, and we love the way our newspaper and media partners can put issues into a broader context. We think you will too. That said, if you have concerns with localocracy joining your local paper, or you want to recommend a media partner for your community, please feel free to email us at Partnerships@localocracy.org

In the future, we plan to offer additional services to local governments for a small fee. However, the current feature set will remain free of charge. The additional services will provide local government with an easy way to manage public participation and government transparency.

Do you allow for sponsored issues?

The simple answer is, we don’t know yet. We have been approached by state agencies and developers looking to get public feedback on community initiatives ranging from broadband access to alternative energy. We believe that so long we are transparent about these initiatives and our relationship with these organizations sponsored issues do not harm our mission.

The catch for the sponsor is, public feedback doesn’t always go the way you expect it, and our priority is the community. If you feel strongly one way or the other, please email us at contact@localocracy.org

How did you get funding? Who owns localocracy?

Localocracy is currently wholly owned by the founding team, who started the company while attending UMass Amherst. Our funding has come, to this point, entirely from prize funding we won in a number of start up competitions while at UMass Amherst, primarily the 2009 and 2010 UMass Innovation Challenge.

What is your mission? Do you have a political stance?

We believe that the best answers to a community’s problems come from the people. We believe that everyone should have the power to identify and solve the problems that affect them.

We believe that America is a beautifully diverse country, and that, though we all share common problems, different communities have different values and different strengths. We know that what works well in Boston, MA may not work at all in Boise, ID, and that we can find local solutions to national problems.

Localocracy does not take a position on any issue. Our stance is that citizens are effected by policy in their day to day lives, and should have a voice in shaping that policy.

If you are interested in learning more about our team, you can read more about us here

If you want to learn more about our origin and the vision for the company and political participation you can watch our founder’s original presentation at Ignite Amherst in October 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT4x4AIZLlM">here, or read our blog here