Pol.is is a consensus-building tool that can dramatically expand access to participating in meaningful conversations in your community:
- Groups emerge, characterized by similar voting patterns across similar statements.
- Different voting patterns between groups allows us to see what issues differentiate groups, and are in need of finding common ground.
- Consensus, labeled “Majority Opinion” shows what statements people tend to vote similarly on, across all groups.
What would you discuss, and what would you want to say, if you knew your voice mattered?
Pol.is isn’t a tool for the future; it’s a tool and a process for right now, to support community-powered decision-making today.
Pol.is gives people the opportunity to say what is on their mind, hear others, and learn what values unite us, offering a constructive pathway for community-based problem identification, solving, and decision making.
We feel that the wisdom, knowledge, and ‘ike that is abundant in our communities is not reflected in how problems are solved and decisions are made, and we want to change that. With constructive communication, we can learn from each other, and produce collective intelligence rooted in our lived experiences.
When communities can identify their shared values, and anyone can access that information, this process becomes a pathway to holding decision makers accountable for implementing communities priorities.
- Constructive: Users see statements written by other users. Agree, disagree, or pass. No option to reply means no opportunity for argument.
- Convenient: 15 seconds at a time, anytime, anywhere. At the grocery store, on the bus, in any spare moment simply agree or disagree with one statement, and then carry on with your day. (Or sit down for hours if you like!)
- Honest: Anonymity means you can say how you really feel without worrying about how you’ll be perceived.