Data

Location
Boston
United States
Links
https://www.involved.vote/

ORGANIZATION

Involved, Inc.

May 14, 2019 Scott Fletcher Bowlsby
Location
Boston
United States
Links
https://www.involved.vote/

Involved offers micro-polling software for government, allowing representatives to send out single question surveys through their mailing list, social media, and their app.

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Mission and Purpose

Involved's mission is to increase civic engagement by finding a way to reach the average citizen. Involved offers micro-polling software for government, allowing representatives to send out single question surveys through their mailing list, social media, and their app. Residents can respond in one click, leave private comments and share with friends and neighbors. The ease of use and focus on a single issue results in surveys with the potential to go viral.

Origins and Development 

Involved was founded in February, 2017 by three seniors at Boston University. After graduating, Involved participated in the BU Summer Accelerator and ran a pilot program of their mobile app with four representatives from the Massachusetts State House.

Following the pilot program, Involved opened up to all Massachusetts municipalities and successfully raised $56,502 from a crowdfunding campaign. During this time, Involved was struggling to gain adoption for the mobile application and pivoted to include integrating directly with existing mailing lists and adding share functionality. This led to a breakthrough in adoption, response rates, and virality of questions.

Organizational Structure, Membership, and Funding

Involved is run by co-founders Caleb McDermott and Jacob Dansey. 

The organisation was awarded $11,000 prize money and grants from Boston University and has since sourced $56,502 through equity crowdfunding from friends and family on Netcapital.

Specializations, Methods and Tools

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Major Projects and Events

The first use of Involved was during the BU Summer Accelerator programme during which, the Involved mobile app was trialed with four representatives from the Massachusetts State House.

The second use of Involved came in February, 2018 after the company had officially launched. The Involved platform was used by Newton city councilor Emily Norton to ask citizens their opinion on whether residents should be held responbsible for shoveling their sidewalks. After sending the question to her mailing list and socials, the question went viral and received over 500 responses and 50 comments in the first day. Engagement rates on the poll were 300% higher than alternative surveying methods.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

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Publications

Involved hosts a blog on their website which publishes original content that readers are encouraged to react or reply to through a series of survey questions. 

See Also

Newton, Massachusetts Civic Engagement Study 

References

Startup to Watch 

BostInno

Daily Free Press

Mayor Walsh Tweet

External Links

Official website: https://www.involved.vote/ 

Notes 

Lead image: Involved, http://bit.ly/2WHGrP7