Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab)

The time has come for the next chapter: CitizenLab is now Go Vocal! 📣🎉 We have rebranded to better reflect our commitment to empowering communities and fostering meaningful participation. While our name and image have changed, we remain the same team, led by the original founders. Since our inception, we have partnered with over 500 local governments and organizations of all sizes to make local democracy more inclusive and have provided over 1,000,000 community members with a platform to actively participate in shaping their communities. We are excited to continue building stronger communities together. Want to learn more about our rebranding story? Visit our website: https://www.govocal.com/ #GoVocal #CommunityEngagement #GovTech #CitizenLab

Our Gov Success team recently met up at our Brussels HQ for some face-to-face time 🙋♀️ There was plenty of time for strategizing how best to support our global base of clients 🌎 but also a chance for some team bonding, thinking outside the box (featuring silly putty!) and Belgian cuisine – so important when we spend most of the year working remotely. Until next time Sophie Zinn Anouk De Meulemeester (she/her) Fraser Henderson Pauline van Heerdt Jelena Gregorius Zelda BAS Ellen Batens 👋 #GoVocal #TeamBuilding #GovTech #CommunityEngagement #Brussels

“An AI election chatbot could highlight any discrepancies between a party’s public statements and its actual voting behavior … Parties would have an incentive to maintain consistency between their words and actions.” Go Vocal’s Board Chair Beth Simone Noveck in Fast Company arguing for publicly managed AI tools that enable voters to ask questions and get accurate answers to their election queries 💡

Letzte Woche wurde Go Vocals Partizipationsexpertin Jelena Gregorius im WDR5-Podcast "Politikum" zum Thema Beteiligung interviewt 🎙️ Sie sprach darüber, warum: 💡 Deutschland langsam in die digitale Beteiligung einsteigt 🤝 Verwaltungen über Beteiligungsmaßnahmen nachdenken sollten, und 🏡 Beteiligung in der Stadt Coburg und der Stadt Wien (City of Vienna) so gut funktioniert. Hier können Sie ihr Interview vom 31.07. nach hören 🎧 https://lnkd.in/eGakTATx

Wir freuen uns, dass die brandenburgische Stadt Spremberg/Grodk diese Woche zwei Beteiligungsprojekte auf Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) gestartet hat 🚀 Derzeit laufen zwei Umfragen, eine zum Heimatfest der Stadt und eine weitere, um die Meinung der Bevölkerung zur bevorstehenden Renovierung des Denkmalkomplexes Georgenberg einzuholen 🌳 Nächstes Jahr geht’s dann weiter mit dem Bürger*innenhaushalt der Stadt 💰 Schauen Sie sich ihre neue Beteiligungsplattform an und lassen Sie sich für lokale Beteiligungsinitiativen in Ihrer eigenen Stadt inspirieren: https://lnkd.in/gNEmWK-v Wir wünschen Martin Mogel, Jan Degen, Juliane Gaede, Konstanze Schirmer und dem gesamten Team viel Erfolg und eine starke Zusammenarbeit! 💪 #SprembergGrodk #GemeinsamStark #Bürgerbeteiligung

With 92 mayors surveyed from across Europe, Eurocities has identified the top priorities and challenges for mayors in 2024. Two new challenges jumped into their top 10 over the past year: urban planning and inequalities – two issues that can be tackled with closer engagement with their communities 🏡 Does this match your experience? #Urbanism #CommunityEngagement

This month's newsletter is all about placemaking – using digital mapping tools to engage residents in local decision-making, plus 5 inspiring ways to enhance your residents’ enjoyment over the summer ☀️ All that and more in our latest newsletter, which you can read and subscribe to below. #GoVocal #CommunityEngagement #Democracy

What can you do to ensure that when your residents step outside this summer, they have a positive experience? This is the time of year when everyone is out and about, ready to enjoy communal spaces to the fullest. Here are our 5 most inspiring tips for engaging your community this summer: ☀️ Studies have shown a link between access to green spaces and overall wellbeing. Prioritize green areas in your community for happier, healthier residents. ☀️ Ask your community what safety needs they have. Adequate lighting, signage, pathways, and maintained playgrounds all help residents feel safer when they step outside. ☀️ Summer brings out the cyclists! What can you do to improve your cycling network? ☀️ Local art, culture, and heritage are the things that help communities feel proud of where they live. Incorporate these elements into your public spaces to help them feel inviting and add character. ☀️ We all know the feeling of spotting a brilliant initiative in another town and wishing we could take it home with us. This summer, tap into your residents' travel experiences and turn them into a wellspring of inspiration for your own community. Want to see how communities are putting these ideas into action? Link in the comments 👇

The OECD - OCDE has found that, even more than socioeconomic or demographic factors, people’s sense that they don’t have a say in decision-making leads to the lowest levels of trust in national governments. Their first recommendation for building trust? Use inclusive public engagement methods to ensure those voices get heard.

As a remote-first company, it’s even more important we prioritize team bonding time to help everyone stay connected and motivated 💥 At Go Vocal, we offer all team members two opportunities to meet up with their colleagues throughout the year. Last week it was the Sales and Marketing teams’ turn for some team building, and a healthy mix of work and play. As one team member said afterwards, “Culture isn’t something you can enforce. It arises from specific moments and outlives these moments.” Well said! 🚀 #GoVocal #TeamBuilding #CompanyCulture