PlaceSpeak

History

PlaceSpeak, originally incorporated in British Columbia as New City Ventures, was founded by Colleen Hardwick in 2010 in Vancouver. 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. 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.

The PlaceSpeak platform was designed to enable open and transparent engagement through a geo-social consultation platform that connects people to local issues through a process of geo-authentication. It is geo-social as it ties a person’s identity to their geographical location, and links them together based on shared interests to create a potential dialogue between citizens and local government. 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. A geo-verified user base ensures that respondents to surveys, polls, and discussion forums are providing input on how those in a specific geographic location feel about a particular issue.

In January 2013, PlaceSpeak and FluidSurveys announced a partnership, in which PlaceSpeak offers FluidSurveys on their site. The data that FluidSurvey’s receives from their respondents is geographically verified.

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). It is an e-consultation toolkit that allows proponents to connect with and geo-authenticate citizen users based on their location. It uses a 3-step digital identification process to authenticate a user’s residential address. 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.

Neighbourhoods

Since 2015 PlaceSpeak offers Neighbourhoods, an open private community communications network that allows users to connect with people who live nearby and in the neighborhood. Using geo-authentication Neighbourhoods pools together users who live in the same geographical boundaries, providing key features like a community notice board and an events calendar once logged in. Any communication between registered residents is kept private. PlaceSpeak keeps all participant information confidential and is compliant with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA).