Digital tools database

Below is a table of tools taken from a database that we’re developing in collaboration with other practitioners. It is by no means comprehensive or authoritative at this stage, but it hopefully gives a useful starting place.

Keep in mind that these are all engagement “tools”, not “solutions” — whatever some might claim. Your planning and preparation, and approach to using them, are at least as important as the tool you pick.

We’re going to be continuing to develop this database over the coming weeks and months. If you’d like to help, you can do so here.

Name	What it's used for	Synchronous / Asynchronous	Web address
Adobe Connect	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html
Citizen Space	Commenting / feedback	Asynchronous	https://www.delib.net/citizen_space
CitizenLab	Ideas generation Video-conferencing Voting / prioritisation	Either	https://www.citizenlab.co
Cmnty	Discussion forum Ideas generation Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://www.cmnty.com/#how-it-works
Common Ground for Action	Discussion forum	Asynchronous	https://www.nifi.org/en/cga-online-forums
Commonplace	Commenting / feedback Crowd-mapping Ideas generation	Asynchronous	https://www.commonplace.is/
Concept Board	Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard	Synchronous	conceptboard.com
Consider.it	Argument visualisation Commenting / feedback Decision-making	Asynchronous	https://consider.it/
Consul	Ideas generation	Asynchronous	http://consulproject.org/en/
Crowdspot	Crowd-mapping Ideas generation	Asynchronous	http://crowdspot.com.au
Deliberatorium	Argument visualisation Ideas generation	Asynchronous	http://deliberatorium.mit.edu:8000/ci/login?
Democracy OS	Decision-making Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	http://democracyos.org/
Dialogue	Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://www.delib.net/dialogue
Discourse	Discussion forum	Either	https://www.discourse.org
Dropbox Paper	Co-drafting	Either	https://paper.dropbox.com/
Election Buddy	Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://electionbuddy.com/
Engagement HQ	Commenting / feedback Crowd-mapping Discussion forum Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Either	https://www.bangthetable.com/engagementhq-community-software
Ethelo	Decision-making Discussion forum Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Either	https://ethelo.com/t
Etherpad	Co-drafting	Either	https://etherpad.org
Facebook Groups	Discussion forum	Either	https://facebook.com
Flarum	Discussion forum	Either	https://flarum.org
FixMyStreet	Crowd-mapping	Asynchronous	https://www.fixmystreet.com
Gather	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://gather.town
Google Docs	Co-drafting	Either	https://docs.google.com/
Google Forms	Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://docs.google.com/forms/
GroupMap	Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard	Synchronous	https://www.groupmap.com
Ideaflip	Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard	Synchronous	https://ideaflip.com
Ideascale	Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://ideascale.com
iObeya	Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard	Synchronous	https://www.iobeya.com/en
Jamboard	Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard	Synchronous	https://jamboard.google.com
Joe Docs	Co-drafting Knowledgebase	Either	https://joedocs.com
Jitsi	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://jitsi.org
Konveio	Commenting / feedback	Asynchronous	https://konve.io
LifeSize	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	lifesize.com
Loomio	Decision-making Discussion forum Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://loomio.org
Mentimeter	Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation	Synchronous	https://www.mentimeter.com
Miro	Ideas generation Interactive whiteboard	Synchronous	https://miro.com
Nextdoor	Discussion forum	Either	https://nextdoor.co.uk
Notion	Knowledgebase	Asynchronous	https://www.notion.so/
PlaceSpeak	Crowd-mapping Ideas generation	Asynchronous	https://www.placespeak.com/
Pol.is	Argument visualisation Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://pol.is
Poll Everywhere	Voting / prioritisation	Synchronous	https://www.polleverywhere.com
Quip	Co-drafting	Either	https://quip.com
RankedVote	Voting / prioritisation	Either	https://www.rankedvote.co
Reddit	Discussion forum	Either	https://www.reddit.com
Slack	Discussion forum	Either	https://slack.com/
Slido	Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation	Synchronous	https://www.sli.do
Social Pinpoint	Crowd-mapping Discussion forum Ideas generation	Asynchronous	https://www.socialpinpoint.com
Stack Overview	Discussion forum Knowledgebase	Asynchronous	https://stackoverflow.com
Stormz	Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://stormz.me/en
Survey Monkey	Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://www.surveymonkey.com/
Teams	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://products.office.com/en-US/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software
The Hive	Crowd-mapping Discussion forum Ideas generation	Asynchronous	https://harvestdp.com
ThinkTank	Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Either	https://www.groupsystems.com/thinktank-consensus-automation
Typeform	Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://www.typeform.com/
Unhangout	Discussion forum Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://unhangout.media.mit.edu
Ushahidi	Crowd-mapping	Asynchronous	https://www.ushahidi.com
Voicevoice	Video-conferencing Voting / prioritisation	Synchronous	https://voicevoice.com
Whereby	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://whereby.com
Wisembly	Ideas generation Interactive Q&A Voting / prioritisation	Synchronous	https://wisembly.com/en/
Your Priorities	Ideas generation Voting / prioritisation	Asynchronous	https://www.yrpri.org
Zilino	Discussion forum	Either	http://beta.zilino.com
Zoom	Video-conferencing	Synchronous	https://zoom.us