CitizenLab explained

CitizenLab should not be confused with Citizen Lab.

CitizenLab
Type:Civic Technology Companies
Founded:September 2015
Founder:Wietse Van Ransbeek, Aline Muylaert, Koen Gremmelprez
Hq Location City:Brussels
Hq Location Country:Belgium
Products:Civic engagement platform
Num Employees:11-50

Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) is a Belgian civic tech company that builds citizen engagement platforms for local governments.[1] The company was founded in 2015 by Wietse Van Ransbeeck, Aline Muylaert, and Koen Gremmelprez. Go Vocal uses a cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) model to provide local governments with readymade platforms and tools for collecting and managing citizen input.[2]

History

Go Vocal was founded in September 2015 in Brussels, Belgium by entrepreneurs Wietse Van Ransbeeck, Aline Muylaert, and Koen Gremmelprez. At the time, all three were students at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.[3]

Go Vocal states that it has provided citizen engagement platforms for over 400 local governments in 18 countries. These countries include Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, the United States, and Chile.[2] [4]

On June 4, 2024, CitizenLab rebranded to Go Vocal. [5]

Platform

The goal of the Go Vocal platform is to facilitate civic engagement through a two-way digital platform. The platform uses a cloud-based software as a service (SaaS).The front end of the Go Vocal platform has participation features such as participatory budgeting, survey and polling, idea collection and voting, and citizen initiatives. Features on the back end of the platform allows local governments to gather and manage citizen data and facilitate decision-making based on citizen feedback.

In the spring of 2019, Go Vocal raised two million euros in order to aid the company's expansion into international markets. [6] Investors include: Inventures and finance.brussels funds, the ING bank and the IT group Cipal-Schaubroeck.[7] In May 2019, Go Vocal took part in a Nesta experiment where six cities were sponsored to use the Go Vocal platform in order to explore whether technology can increase government efficiency and transparency.[8]

In March of 2021, Go Vocal announced on its blog that it would be shifting to an open source model.[9] Co-founder Wietse Van Ransbeeck attributed the decision to a desire to increase transparency and "[make their] platform accessible to all civic organizations — from universities and NGOs, to political parties and sports teams."[10]

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mihailescu . Tudor . Aug 23, 2018 . Meet The Under 30 Who Is Bringing Digital Democracy To European Cities . February 4, 2023 . Forbes.
  2. Web site: This Belgian startup brings civic engagement into the digital age: 4 things you need to know. May 20, 2019.
  3. Web site: Shaw . Dougal . July 7, 2021 . CEO Secrets: CitizenLab founder shares her business advice . February 5, 2023 . BBC.
  4. Web site: About Us . February 4, 2023 . CitizenLab.
  5. Web site: 2024-06-04 . Engagement Tech Firm CitizenLab Rebrands as Go Vocal . 2024-06-04 . GovTech . en.
  6. Web site: Brussels startup CitizenLab raises 2 million euros to scale its e-democracy platform across Europe. May 16, 2019. www.agoria.be.
  7. Web site: Digitaal burgerplatform CitizenLab tankt vers kapitaal. May 16, 2019. De Tijd.
  8. Web site: New grants to improve AI use in cities. May 10, 2019. Cities Today - Connecting the world's urban leaders.
  9. Web site: April 12, 2021 . CitizenLab Goes Open Source to Encourage Participation . February 5, 2023 . Government Technology.
  10. Web site: Van Ransbeeck . Wietse . March 30, 2023 . Here's why we are going open source . February 5, 2023 . CitizenLab.
  11. Web site: La Métropole du Grand Paris à Vivatech. Affiches Parisiennes. 3 June 2019 .
  12. Web site: 50 Vlamingen voor de toekomst. September 10, 2018. De Tijd.
  13. Web site: CitizenLab. Forbes.
  14. Web site: Small Teaser and UniFly are startup and scale-up of the year!. Frederik. Tibau. startups.be.
  15. Web site: STEM! Wie is volgens u de Radicale Vernieuwer van 2017?. Ine. Renson. De Standaard.
  16. Web site: Cool Vendors in Smart City Applications and Solutions, 2017. Gartner.
  17. Web site: Apply now to the StartHer Awards!. 12 November 2022 .
  18. Web site: Brussels ondernemersduo van CitizenLab prijkt op Forbes' lijst van jonge beloftevolle vernieuwers. January 23, 2018. Site-Trends-NL.

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