Inspiration
Research
Training

Smarter Together, the hub for collectively intelligent governance and stronger democracies

Collective Intelligence for Stronger Democracies

Smarter Together is a non-profit whose purpose is to study, design, develop and evaluate democratic innovations and collaborative governance mechanisms in the public field and within organizations, with the goal of renewing representative democracy as we currently know it and to allow groups to better respond to collective issues, in particular thanks to a better understanding of the science and methods of Collective Intelligence. Why? Because Collective Intelligence well done allows us to resist polarisation and attacks against democracy.

Smarter Together’s mission is therefore to expand governments’ and communities’ ability to solve public problems more effectively, by fostering more inclusive and deliberative governance around the world.

Our vision

A world in which democracy is strengthened because it develops more effective solutions to public problems, in ways that are seen as more legitimate, and more in tune with people’s deeper values and emotions.

At Smarter Together, we believe that strong democracies depend on collective intelligence. Our mission is to harness this power to counteract rising authoritarianism and extreme polarisation. As political discourse becomes dominated by violent rhetoric and simplistic solutions, we aim to create spaces where diverse voices can come together to find thoughtful, inclusive solutions to society’s most complex problems.

Democracy is more than just elections and polls—it’s about fostering a culture of debate and collaboration. By implementing collective intelligence effectively, we resist the fragmentation of our societies and offer a way to heal, depolarize, and reinvent democratic systems. Just as the human brain processes diverse information to make intelligent decisions, society can, and should, work the same way.

Smarter Together provides a platform for this collective thinking, standing as a force of resistance against the threats posed by authoritarian movements, political extremism, and the erosion of democratic freedoms. In an era where fear and division seem to rule, we focus on building networks of innovation, solidarity, and resilience, ensuring that democracy remains a space for everyone.

There’s more to CI and government than citizens’ assemblies

The key methods that Smarter Together focuses on are:

Multi-stakeholder agoras
Political Task Committees
The Jan Sunwai
The Open European Dialogue
Prediction Markets
Collaborative Forecasting
Smarter Crowdsourcing
CI “Superminds”
Theory U
Citizen Science
AI-assisted governance
Collective creativity
Self-moderated online platforms
Legislative co-creation
Knowledge management and legislative experimentation
Public Challenges
Crowdsourcing through simple devices
Community Organizing
Unleash Labs
Political bots, AI and citizen interaction

Services provided

Documenting inspirational governance practices and public policies
Research, writing, public speaking, moderating events
Training and capacity building in Collective Intelligence, Creativity and Collaborative Leadership

Results

Smarter Together has federated some 70 experts from around the world, contributing to The Routledge Handbook of Collective Intelligence for Democracy & Governance. A number of them have contributed to over 100 individual initiatives between June 2023 and June 2024, including but not limited to:

7 webinars covering important topics for democracy: collective intelligence to renew democracy; the role of emotions in participatory processes; AI, collective intelligence, emotional intelligence and democracy; how to create safe space dialogue for policy makers; participatory grantmaking and CI; political dialogue to counter polarisation.
4 learning and co-creation sessions for more than 119 change makers and public officials: an Open Challenge for the Public Service of Wallonia; a masterclass on creativity for climate activists; an ideation session on ocean protection with advocacy specialists from NGO Bloom and other NGOs; and a learning and networking session for EU public officials on methods of collective intelligence.
A bi-weekly newsletter.
A dedicated website, backed by a dedicated SEO strategy, that is now ranked at the top of Google search results for a large number of relevant expressions.