Spotlight: Using Pol.is: A Dynamic Tool for Consensus Building

ACTionism

21 Jun 2025 — 2 min read

Pol.is is a tool designed to facilitate large-scale, open-ended conversations while identifying areas of consensus. It enables groups, whether face-to-face or online, to engage people in active decision making and participatory processes in an inclusive and scalable way.

The challenge:

Traditional consultation and decision-making processes often fail to capture genuine consensus or engage participants meaningfully. Conventional surveys and discussions can be dominated by a few vocal voices, whilst quieter participants remain unheard. This leads to false consensus, poor engagement, and decisions that don't reflect the true priorities of the community. Face-to-face meetings and workshops frequently struggle with unequal participation, making transparent and democratic decision-making difficult to achieve.

The ACTion:

Pol.is facilitates large-scale, open-ended conversations whilst identifying areas of genuine consensus through collective intelligence. Unlike traditional approaches, it enables groups—whether face-to-face or online—to engage people in active decision-making through an inclusive and scalable platform.

The system allows participants to respond to statements and suggest their own ideas whilst mapping out areas of agreement and divergence in real time. This helps decision-makers and facilitators understand diverse group perspectives without forcing artificial consensus.

For face-to-face and place-based groups, Pol.is provides:

Real-time input gathering from participants in meetings, workshops, and community events
Discovery of unexpected areas of agreement that traditional discussions might miss
Opportunities for quieter voices to contribute without speaking-up pressure
More transparent and democratic decision-making that fosters greater trust and engagement

Why pol.is is better than a survey:

Real-time interaction: Participants can respond to and refine ideas
Idea generation: New ideas can be added by anyone.
Consensus building: Similar ideas are grouped together automaticall
Transparency: Conversations are visible to all participants.
Data-driven insights: Easily identifies group sentiment.

Ready to take ACTion and start exploring Pol.is in your community?

Download this one pager with lots more info on how to set it up and make the most of it in your community .

You can also watch the Spotlight call hosted by Jon Alexander where we meet and chat to Colin from Pol.is to find out why he thinks its so important that this kind of decision making tool is critical if we are to design a #CitizenFuture

one pager - Pol.is

This one pager has lots more info on how to get started with Pol.is including set up

one pager - Pol.is.pdf

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Pol.is is a tool designed to facilitate large-scale, open-ended conversations while identifying areas of consensus. It enables groups, whether face-to-face or online, to engage people in active decision making and participatory processes in an inclusive and scalable way. The challenge: