What makes PlaceSpeak different from other online engagement tools?

The PlaceSpeak Difference

PlaceSpeak provides a controlled, secure, privacy-protected, and transparent platform for organizations to gather public input on a wide variety of projects from a local community or wider geographic region. PlaceSpeak is citizen-focused, transparent, open and accountable. All data collected is from real people.

Our platform adds value to public consultation and engagement processes. This value is added through generating verifiable data to support decision-making by communicating with participants online according to their actual address and personal preferences. We help organizations gather defensible, geographically coded information to satisfy the need for public consultation and engagement.

What makes PlaceSpeak a good online engagement platform?

The development of PlaceSpeak was influenced by the International Association of Public Participation [IAP2] Spectrum of Participation (pdf). The platform is designed to allow for genuine, open and transparent engagement that:

• taps into the wisdom of the entire community;

• can effectively engage, at different levels and at different times, all  who want to participate in the engagement process (not just a selected segment);

• satisfies people’s desire to be heard on their own terms and at their own pace and time;

• increases the number of voices that are being heard;

• each new  consultation expands the base of users due to the people-centred networking effect;

• is more inclusive and gives people a more equitable way to participate;

• allows the community to weigh in on the definition of the problem and provide ideas for solutions;

• allows the community to see how their voice is used in shaping outcomes in the overall decision making process;

• re-defines the relationship between community and decision makers; and

• over time fosters community pride and community well-being.

The Importance of Verification

PlaceSpeak believes that to for a public engagement process to be valuable to decision-makers,  participants should be accountable for the input they provide. To be accountable you have to be real; and to be real you have to verify that you are who you say you are. The incentive for residents to claim their place with PlaceSpeak is that they only have to do it once.  Once a resident claims their place, they are able to participate on any topic of interest that is connected with their geographic location(s)of interest to you, according to the parameters of the consultation proponent.

PlaceSpeak = SafeSpeak

Personal information collected from residents by PlaceSpeak—including physical addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses—is used to serve as a bridge between participants and the topics they choose to connect to. When a participant connects to a topic, s/he becomes a verifiable data point that can be counted to ensure that their input is recorded and heard. Participants are able to choose how their name and image are seen by other viewers. PlaceSpeak is not funded by advertiser and we will never sell your information to third parties.

For more information, please review our privacy policy or view this short video: