PlaceSpeak

PlaceSpeak Inc. is a Canadian technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[2][3] The company has created PlaceSpeak, a location-based civic engagement platform designed to consult with people within specific geographic boundaries.[4][5][6]

PlaceSpeak, Inc[1]
TypePrivate
IndustryPublic participation, Civic technology
Founded2010
FoundersColleen Hardwick
Headquarters
Vancouver, British Columbia
,
Canada
Websiteplacespeak.com

Since its inception, PlaceSpeak has been developed with the support of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC-IRAP). Its suite of feedback collection tools and features was designed with the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Spectrum of Public Participation in mind. PlaceSpeak has been used by public and private sector organizations to consult with the public on community plans, parks and recreation, public transit, public health, budgets, and more. As of late, it has supported the emergence of Smart Cities across the world with citizen engagement tools for real time development.

History

PlaceSpeak was founded by Colleen Hardwick in 2010.[7] The idea came to her while looking at a Google Map of Vancouver’s Arbutus Corridor, and she posed a question about how to best consult with residents based on where they live.[8] She thought that a tool was needed to provide a platform for government, decision makers and developers of public policy “to demonstrate honesty…and authenticity in their desire to respond to the will of the people”. Traditional forms of civic engagement, such as public meetings, often have low attendance with very selective participation; PlaceSpeak initially began as a way to supplement and enhance traditional forms of consultation. Hardwick developed the platform as a way to advance public participation.[9]

The PlaceSpeak platform was designed to enable open and transparent engagement by connecting people to local issues.[10] By connecting users' digital identity to their physical location, PlaceSpeak keeps them notified of new and relevant public consultations in their communities, creating opportunities for dialogue between citizens and local government.[11] The ability for proponents and participants to engage with each other reflects PlaceSpeak’s two-sided market. Proponents register their organization with PlaceSpeak and set up a topic to consult with the public.[12][13] Geo-verified users can respond to surveys, polls, discussion forums and participatory maps, providing insight into how residents in a specific area feel about a particular issue.[14]

Technology

PlaceSpeak is a cloud-based public participation platform that generates Geo-spatial feedback data, closely related to a form of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI).[15] It is an e-consultation toolkit that allows proponents to connect with and geo-authenticate citizen users based on their location.[16][17][18] It uses a 3-step digital identification process to authenticate a user’s residential address.[19] PlaceSpeak is based on a web application framework which enables GIS scaling and has a built in archiving structure. It has an Application Programming Interface that enables integration with third party applications, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Neighborhoods

In 2015, PlaceSpeak launched Neighborhoods, a private civic network that allows users to connect with people who live in their neighborhood.[20][21] Neighborhoods pools together geo-verified users who live in the same neighborhood, providing key features like a community noticeboard and an events calendar once logged in.[22] Any communication between registered residents is kept private.[23]

References
  1. "About". PlaceSpeak. PlaceSpeak, Inc. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  2. "We're Making Development Information Easier to Access". Victoria.ca. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  3. Matt Smith (26 February 2015). "Bartlett spruiks online politician app". Themercury.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  4. Kelly Sinoski (26 October 2012). "Tradition of civic engagement continues with PlaceSpeak start-up". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  5. Christine McLaren (22 June 2011). "Internet tools help citizens find solutions to local problems". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  6. DIACC. "Spotlight on PlaceSpeak – Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada". Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  7. "PLACESPEAK". Crowdsourcing.org. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  8. Stephen Hui (20 May 2011). "Geek Speak: Colleen Hardwick, CEO of PlaceSpeak". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  9. Kelly Sinoski (25 October 2012). "New online survey platform connects people with local issues". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  10. Mike Klassen (8 March 2012). "Survey Says! Help decide your urban future". Citycaucus. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  11. John Kline. "Elkhart County commissioner trying new community chat service". Goshen News. Indiana Economic Digest. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  12. Stu Nicholson (5 January 2015). "'Whaddaya Think?' Digital Tools for Engaging Public Input". Governing.com. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  13. "2017 from A to Z / Broadband, Breaches and Blockchain". www.govtech.com. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  14. "Small Spaces: She's IT". Market Wired. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  15. Sam Sturgis (23 March 2015). "You Know Where They're Doing an Amazing Job Tracking Infrastructure? The Yukon". Citylab.com. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  16. John Prpic, Prashant Shukla (9 July 2013). "Knowledge problem? Go with the crowd". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  17. "Claim your Place. Speak your Mind. A Study in Participatory Democracy". Academia.edu. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  18. Rab, Lauren. "Digital Identity & Civic Action: PlaceSpeak Civic Networks White Paper – Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada". Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  19. "Civic networks: a new paradigm for online citizen engagement". Apolitical. 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  20. Tereza Verenca (27 April 2015). "New West ground zero for community pilot project". New West Record. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  21. "Connect neighbours, no password required". Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  22. Mario Bartel (29 April 2015). "Creating an online community telephone pole in New West". New West Newsleader. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  23. Boris Wertz (25 July 2014). "Open data and crowdfunding can breathe new life into democracy". VentureBeat. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
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