Delib is a for-profit democracy company which provides digital tools that bring consultation and engagement online in a way that is simple and effective for both organisations and citizens.
Mission and Purpose
Delib is a digital democracy company, founded in 2001 in a fit of frustration at outdated general election practices that failed (and still do) to take into account the democratic decisions that actually affect citizens. Democracy doesn’t just stop after a general election. It’s everywhere, every day.
The problem was that citizens either didn’t know how to access it, or had to jump through so many hoops to take part that it just wasn’t worth their time. Delib looks at democratic processes that aren’t functioning properly, and design digital products that make them work for an internet age.
Delib's products are in use by over 160 organisations around the world, primarily concentrated in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. [1]
Origins and Development
Since its inception in 2001, this firm has been one of the top digital democracy companies in the field. Throughout their existence, their clientele has included central governments such as that of the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as central government departments, local authorities of varying size and scope, health bodies, regulators, and other publicly accountable bodies.[2]
Organizational Structure, Membership, and Funding
Delib is a for-profit company that offers its products on an annual subscription basis. Organisations can choose to use one, two or all three, depending on their individual needs and plans for citizen engagement. As such there is no membership available.
Delib is a small company with about 30 employees. Its HQ is located in Bristol, England, but it also has staff in Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland.
Funding
This organization is a for-profit company and they work with various organizations and governments. The cost of each tool is charged annually on a subscription basis. Some examples of partners they have worked with and for include: NHS, BBC Trust, Defra, European Parliament, NAPA, DoH, Cabinet Office, Bristol City Council, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and the Scottish Government.
Tools
Citizen Space:
Citizen Space is a democratic involvement platform that is most commonly used for statutory and non-statutory consultation and stakeholder engagement. It supports the end-to-end process of public involvement: from the design and creation of the response mechanism through data collection to final feedback and response publishing.
This online consultation platform has been used by the Scottish Government.
Simulator:
This product makes it easier for people to understand complex decisions, such as budgets, policing priorities and climate obligations, enabling informed opinions on the issue in question. Simulator allows weighted resource allocation and priority-setting that begins to reproduce the conditions government officials face in their own decision-making. The tool informs at the point of response, meaning that participants need no prior knowledge of e.g. council finances to take part. [3]
Dialogue:
This product allows for the sharing of ideas, online dynamic interaction and the gathering of customer feedback. It is ideal for crowd-sourcing; promoting innovation and ideas exchange; and running debates on issues that your community cares about. This application has been used by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to get people involved in important discussions. [4]
Major Projects and Events
Case Studies
Delib is dedicated to helping their clients excel in their efforts of engaging with the public. Through previous case studies, Delib has been successful in developing consultations that connect government departments and local organizations with regular citizens. Delib has developed a strategy for their case studies which consists of the brief, the work, the results and finally, how to find out more information.
1. Barnet, Enfield and Haringey PCTS
They have worked with Barnet, Enfield and Haringey PCTS, which are three hospitals that are interested in providing better qualified local doctors and better building for their patients to enjoy. BE&H is interested in engaging and consulting local citizens about health care issues that are most sensitive. Delib managed a bespoke e-consultation campaign which received a lot of community engagement. The number of participants reached over 10,000 and hundreds of responses to the surveys conducted.
2. Macmillan Cancer Support Center
With the use of an 'Idea Tree,' Delib was able to manage a successful campaign with MCSC. Macmillan cancer support center is dedicated to helping people whose lives have been affected by cancer. They wanted to build engagement and research how people think cancer should look like in 2016. They developed an idea tree which helped people read, rate, and submit ideas for improving the ordeal involved with cancer. Essentially an effort to push for better cancer care for patients and their families, the number of participants reached over 26,000 and the submitting of more than 250 ideas. [7]
3. Torbay Council
One of the other case studies was with Torbay Council which is Unitary Authority[8]; their goal was to allow Torbay citizens to be involved in the budget setting process and make their priorities known to council decision-makers. Delib created a budget simulator that is a customizable tool to help with consultation and prioritizing local issues. Responses were numbered in more than 1,000 Torbayian residents.
4. Defra
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs is a government department in the UK. [9] Their desired results were to “ Raise awareness and encourage attitudinal change amongst 11-16 year olds about the urgent need to tackle climate change.” Delib helped them by building “my adobo” which is an online tool that helps people shape a house to suit them, when they are done, they can shape the climate. Over 138,000 visited the site to see the impacts of customizable virtual houses and their effects on the climate. This resulted in over 32,000 adobos being created.
5. National Dialogue on Health Care, IT and Privacy for the National Academy of Public Administration
They were interested in hearing about ideas and opinions of stakeholders as well as Americans on the issue of healthcare. With help from Delib, they were able to develop an 'opinion tracker' which is an online database that allows people to share their intelligent thoughts while others are able to listen and make-sense of the thousands of voices all going on at once. The results were outstanding because the opinion tracker received over 2800 visitors a week and submitted over 120 unique ideas and more than 500 comments on those ideas.
6. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
The final case study was for London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. They are a council that is dedicated to helping residents and businesses during rough times.[10] LBHF wanted to deliver “deliver a full online consultation and stakeholder/public engagement web system to support the authority's consultation work.” The customized version of Delib’s e-consultation platform was the tool LBHF was most interested in. This online database includes a finder database, survey tool, stakeholder communication system, and reporting and management tools. This was a huge success because everyone had an opportunity to engage in discussions. In the end, more than 2,000 residents responded to online surveys.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
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Publications
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See Also
Energy 2050 Pathways: A Public Dialogue
Citizen Space: Participatory Platform for Online Consultation With the Scottish Government
References
[1] Delib. Web. <http://www.delib.net/>.
[2] About Delib. Web. < https://www.delib.net/about_delib >.
[3] Budget Simulator. Web. <http://www.delib.net/simulator>.
[4] "Dialogue - Delib." Web. <http://www.delib.net/dialogue/tour>.
[6] Citizen Space. Web. https://www.delib.net/citizen_space/
[7] Cancer Care and Support Charity - Macmillan Cancer Support. Web. <http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx>.
[8] Torbay Council. Web. <http://www.torbay.gov.uk/>.
[9] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Citizen Space site. Web. <https://consult.defra.gov.uk/>.
[10] London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham - Citizen Space site. Web. <https://lbhf.citizenspace.com>.