A curated list of tools for collaborative problem-solving based on the following six stages of distributed governance:
- Agenda Setting
- Solution Finding
- Solution Formulation
- Implementation
- Enforcement and Adjudication
- Monitoring and Evaluation
and other Useful Resources
Inspired by awesome-dataviz, "a curated list of awesome data visualizations frameworks, libraries and software".
Key: * = open source & + = free use.
- Agreeable – voting software with Likert scale measurements.
- All our Ideas - a data collection tool that has the scale, speed, and quantification of a survey while still allowing for new information to "bubble up" from respondents as happens in interviews, participant observation, and focus groups.
- AskMetafilter - auestions and answers by the MetaFilter community.
- DemocracyOS - open-source, vote and debate tool, crafted for parliaments, parties and decision-making institutions that will allow citizens to get informed, join the conversation and vote on topics, just how they want their representatives to vote. Watch a demo HERE.
- GoogleForms – create a new survey on your own or with others at the same time.
- Google Moderator – Let your audience decide. Get to know your audience by letting them decide which questions, suggestions or ideas interest them most.
- GovLab Academy Canvas
- Ideascale – a cloud-based software company that licenses an innovation management platform employing the principles and practices of crowdsourcing.
- Loomio – an open source tool for collaborative decision-making and democratic organizing. Watch demo HERE.
- Neighborland - empowers people to take action on local issues. It’s a new way for people to share insights, identify resources, and connect with decision makers to make great ideas happen.
- Open311 API – developed in the U.S. as a common standard for fault or issue reporting. This is an API that can be used for a wide range of purposes around consultation and participation.
- OSQA – a free, entry-level Q&A system from the makers of AnswerHub, the market-leading professional Q&A platform.
- Question2Answer – a Q&A site helps your online community to share knowledge. No matter what your area of interest, people with questions can get super answers fast.
- Quora - a question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by its community of users.
- Reddit – crowdsourced content and voting platform.
- Screendoor
- Stack Exchange – a question and answer forum to get expert advice on a diversity of topics. Stack Exchange gives users the ability to upvote questions and answers, provides distinct, topic-based Q&A sites within the larger Stack Exchange framework, including the computer programming Stack Overflow community.
- Stormboard – realtime Brainstorming and Collaboration.
- SurveyGizmo – offers an API for integrating survey functionality into websites, blogs and other applications, including integration with Salesforce.com.
- SurveyMonkey – create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time.
- Textizen – built by Code for America, Textizen is an easy-access SMS-based tool for proactive outreach, structured input, and ongoing engagement.
- Typeform
- Yahoo Answers - share insights and experience. Get answers, ask questions, and find information.
- All our Ideas - a data collection tool that has the scale, speed, and quantification of a survey while still allowing for new information to "bubble up" from respondents as happens in interviews, participant observation, and focus groups.
- AskMetafilter - questions and answers by the MetaFilter community.
- CKAN
- DataKind – brings high-impact organizations dedicated to solving the world’s biggest challenges together with leading data scientists to improve the quality of, access to and understanding of data in the social sector.
- GoogleForms – create a new survey on your own or with others at the same time.
- Google Consumer Survey
- Google Opinion Rewards for mobile use.
- GroupTie - Group Relationship Management (GRM) which enables companies to greatly improve and manage their networks of people.
- Ideascale – a cloud-based software company that licenses an innovation management platform employing the principles and practices of crowdsourcing.
- Kaggle – an expert network and competition platform for data scientists. Kaggle incorporates user tiers to highlight engagement milestones (rather than more granular points and leaderboard functionalities). Kaggle also provides users with goal-based incentives.
- LiteMap - a web tool for mapping out visually the content of online debates across different forums and Websites. With LiteMap users can harvest issues, ideas, pros and cons of public debates and connect them in meaningful network graphs.
- Loomio – an open source tool for collaborative decision-making and democratic organizing. Watch demo HERE.
- MOOVIA – brings the power of social networking to your company. Easy to use as applications like Facebook and Twitter, but designed for company collaboration, file sharing, knowledge exchange and team productivity. With MOOVIA, companies and professionals communicate better, but most important, transform their ideas and knowledge into action.
- Neighborland - empowers people to take action on local issues. It’s a new way for people to share insights, identify resources, and connect with decision makers to make great ideas happen.
- OpenIdeo – a web-based platform for innovation where designers and other creative thinkers create together
- Quora - a question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by its community of users.
- Reddit – crowdsourced content and voting platform.
- Stack Exchange – a question and answer forum to get expert advice on a diversity of topics. Stack Exchange gives users the ability to upvote questions and answers, provides distinct, topic-based Q&A sites within the larger Stack Exchange framework, including the computer programming Stack Overflow community.
- Textizen – built by Code for America, Textizen is an easy-access SMS-based tool for proactive outreach, structured input, and ongoing engagement.
- Yahoo Answers - share insights and experience. Get answers, ask questions, and find information.
- Ahhha – a crowdsourcing site where innovators and contributors cooperatively develop new ideas.
- Assembl - a software application that allows hundreds or even thousands of people to work together productively.
- Blexting - a mobile app that lets individuals photographically survey properties and update condition information for posting and sharing. These pictures and surveys aim to help cities fight blight. The Blexting app was created by LOVELAND, a group that works with governments, neighborhood groups, and development projects to gather public information about properties in clearer, more effective ways.
- ChallengePost - a community of hackers, and a space to include open source projects, get feedback, and connect with fellow makers.
- CommunityPlanIt - a game that makes planning playful, and gives everyone the power to shape the future of their community.
- Discourse – a platform for community discussion. Whenever you need a mailing list, a forum to discuss something, a chat room where you can type paragraphs, consider Discourse. Watch demo HERE.
- Draft – An online tool for collaborative drafting that supports version control and commenting; cloud services like Evernote, Dropbox and Google Drive; in-browser extensions; audio/video transcription tools; markdown to-dos; engagement analytics with several data fields, including the Fleisch reading level for words; and data and file sharing.
- Evernote – A popular cloud-based note-taking and archiving system that supports cross-device synchronization and updates; in-browser extensions (for saving pages or sections of content from pages); file sharing; and the ability to tag content.
- Fountain - helps you whenever you’re stuck on a problem, by connecting you with a highly rated expert who can help. In under 5 minutes you’ll be connected 1-on-1 through video chat, text and photos with annotation.
- Genius - an online annotation tool.
- Github - GitHub is a Git repository web-based hosting service, which offers all of the distributed revision control and source code management (SCM) functionality of Git as well as adding its own features.
- Google Drive – A cloud-based file storage, file sharing and document collaboration service offered by Google. It contains Google Docs, an office suite that supports collaborative editing on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, surveys and drawings. Users can choose privacy settings for various levels of access and can also publish Google Docs to the Web.
- Granicus - the leading provider of government webcasting and public meeting software, maintaining the world’s largest network of legislative content. They currently have 20,000+ government users utilizing their video streaming services.
- GrexIt - an email-based collaboration tool for Google Apps
- HackerLeague - powers hackathons. It provides all the tools and resources that a hackathon organizer needs to manage and throw a successful event.
- Hackpad – a cloud-based collaborative note taking tool that supports data and files sharing; commenting in real-time; authoring in real-time; identifying contributors; setting privacy permissions; breaking projects into subtasks and assigning them; and photo, sound, and video embedding. Hackpad also supports the use of hashtags to help search and sort content.
- HeroX - a platform for running competitions to solve local and global problem.
- HighQ Collaborate - secure document exchange, enterprise social collaboration, client extranets and knowledge portals for organisations.
- Hypothes.is – annotation tool and open platform for the collaborative evaluation of knowledge.
- InnoCentive - helps clients to engage a world of creative and diverse on-demand talent to rapidly generate novel ideas and solve important problems.
- Kaggle – An expert network and competition platform for data scientists. Kaggle incorporates user tiers to highlight engagement milestones (rather than more granular points and leaderboard functionalities). Kaggle also provides users with goal-based incentives.
- Loomio – an open source tool for collaborative decision-making and democratic organizing. Watch demo HERE.
- Mediawiki – A free, open-source wiki package that supports collaborative editing of content without any obvious owner or editor (though contributions can be tracked by administrators) and without any “implicit structure”.
- Medium - Collaborative web-based editor
- MOOVIA – brings the power of social networking to your company. Easy to use as applications like Facebook and Twitter, but designed for company collaboration, file sharing, knowledge exchange and team productivity. With MOOVIA, companies and professionals communicate better, but most important, transform their ideas and knowledge into action.
- NationBuilder - NationBuilder is a cost-effective, accessible software platform that helps communities organize and people build relationships.
- OptimalSort – Use card sorting to find out how people think your content should be organised and get the user insights you need to make informed information architecture decisions.
- Stack Exchange – a question and answer forum to get expert advice on a diversity of topics. Stack Exchange gives users the ability to upvote questions and answers, provides distinct, topic-based Q&A sites within the larger Stack Exchange framework, including the computer programming Stack Overflow community.
- Storehouse - tell stories with photos and videos.
- Wikistrat – crowdsourced consultancy. We leverage a global community of analysts to run simulations of likely international events, trends and more.
- Hatch - connects you to a suite of tools and a growing community that can help you leverage the power of narrative to increase reach, resources and impact for your social impact organization.
- IFTTT - a service that lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement: “if this, then that”.
- NeighborWorks - NeighborWorks is a community development hub that supports more than 240 U.S. development organizations through grants and technical assistance.
- Adobe Proto - “a new Adobe Touch App, lets you create interactive wireframes and prototypes of websites and mobile apps on your tablet”.
- CartoDB - create maps for the web.
- ChartBuilder - build charts online.
- Codiqa - "a powerful drag-and-drop builder for creating cross-platform HTML5 mobile apps and websites”.
- Glyphish - “add richness with colorful app background graphics in all high-resolution sizes required for iOS devices. Perfect anywhere a bit of extra visual style is needed".
- iMovie - Apple’s video editing application.
- Keynote Kung-Fu - “use Keynote to create wireframes and clickable prototypes for the web and mobile devices”.
- Keynotopia - “3,000+ pixel-perfect vector user interface components and 200+ icons, designed from scratch in Keynote and PowerPoint, and fully editable and customizable without needing additional design tools".
- LiveView Screencaster - "a specialized network screen viewing application intended as a tool to help designers create graphics for mobile applications. It is also useful for creating quick interactive demos and experience prototypes”.
- Moqups - tool for creating apps or websites mock-ups
- Omnigraffle - tool for creating graphics i.w. website wireframes, an electrical system design, a family tree, or mapping out software classes.
- Stickers on Boxes - prototyping tool for generating objects that communicate concepts.
- Placeit - a web service that helps you produce product mock ups and services by generating screenshots of your app in use in realistic environments
- PopApp - helps transform your pen and paper ideas into a real working prototype.
- Proto.io - create fully-interactive high-fidelity prototypes. No coding required.
- Arduino - circuitboard to put together interactive hardware prototypes.
- BlinkM - a programmable led light “designed to give you glanceable notice of anything on your computer or the internet.”
- WunderBar - "easiest way to create innovative and useful apps to connect smart devices”.
- Freedcamp – an app store where you can install To-Do's, Discussions, Milestones, Time Tracking, and Calendar for free.
- Liferay – a portal, web content management and social collaboration platform.
- LiquidPlanner – wiki-like pages, document sharing, Twitter-like commenting and predictive scheduling.
- LucidChart – collaborative diagramming and website/software prototyping, supports real-time collaboration, built on web standards.
- OpenProject – an open source project collaboration suite.
- Producteev – an online task management tool that serves as your full productivity platform (task and project management, files sharing, internal communication and productivity apps aggregation).
- Project.net – open source project management software with document, task, and project sharing and collaboration.
- Sharetronix - create a private social network for your organization.
- TopCoder – a programming expert network, collaboration engine and contest platform. The network provides users a “reputation score” that is listed on their profile page, alongside a set of various statistics regarding their participation in TopCoder challenges. The network also uses competitions and tournaments to drive and incentivize engagement.
- Trello – free web-based project management application.
- Wrike – an interactive, web-based tool for project management and collaboration.
- IssueTrak – issue tracking software that can be customized to help your organization increase productivity, manage resources and simplify the process of resolving issues across your entire organization, department or team.
- Edge Inspect - application for web developers and designers to preview their content across multiple mobile devices.
- Inspectlet - watch individual visitors use your site as if you're looking over their shoulders.
- UserTesting - get videos of real people using your website or app, in 1 hour.
- F5 Audio Transcription Tool - a transcriber tool that can load an audio or video file into a text editor.
- Fission - crop and trim audio, paste in or join files, or split one long file into many.
- Garageband - Apple’s audio editing application.
- Piezo - to record audio on your Mac from any application or from audio inputs like microphones.
- Sound Studio - audio editing application
- ArchiveSocial - a social media archiving solution that automates record keeping from social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. It is geared towards business compliance and legal protection activities in enterprises, addressing record keeping challenges in industries like financial services, government, and education.
- U-report – a free SMS-based system that allows Ugandans “to establish and enforce new standards of transparency and accountability in development programming and services” by becoming “U-reporters”.
- Liquid Feedback – voting and reputation system.
- Yelp - find, review and talk about what's great - and not so great - in your local area.
- 3sixty – an easy, free service which helps you gather great quality anonymous feedback from your team.
- CityWorks - leading provider of GIS-centric asset management solutions, performing cost-effective inspection, monitoring, and condition assessment.
- ClassDojo - allows educators to track student behaviour, award points for improvement and email parents a weekly report about how their son or daughter is doing.
- Open311 API – developed in the U.S. as a common standard for fault or issue reporting. This is an API that can be used for a wide range of purposes around consultation and participation.
- SeeClickFix - web tool for citizens to report and vote on neighborhood issues.
- Sentiment analysis - e.g. through Google Analytics.
####Measuring ISP bandwidth
- http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest
- http://www.pingtest.net/
- https://www.google.com/get/videoqualityreport/ – video streaming quality
####Measuring telephony
- http://www.ringcentral.com/support/qos.html – voice quality
- http://www.rootmetrics.com/us – cell phone coverage
####800 phone tip service, e.g. to report cyber porn, cyber bullying
###dashboarding tools
- Tableau - helps people visualize and understand their data.
- D3.js – a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data.
##Useful Resources
###Communication
- Call Recorder - skype plug-in to record audio and video calls.
- Discourse – a platform for community discussion. Whenever you need a mailing list, a forum to discuss something, a chat room where you can type paragraphs, consider Discourse. Watch demo HERE.
- FireChat - open garden allows all devices (including smart phones, tablets, laptops and “wearables”) to work together and find the best connections at any time.
- Google Hangouts - free video calling for groups up to ten people across computers, Android and Apple devices.
- HipChat - hosts group chat and video chat built for teams. Supercharge real-time collaboration with persistent chat rooms, file sharing, and screen sharing.
- IRC - a very old protocol, does pure-text chat only. There are many clients and free, open servers. It’s also possible to run your own server using free code.
- JoinMe - free, simple, fast online meetings. Share your screen instantly with anyone.
- Kandan – open Source private chat server. Your own private Chat server in minutes, plus additional features.
- Skype - video chat and voice calls from computers, tablets and mobile devices via the Internet to other devices or telephones/smartphones
- Slack – brings all your communication together in one place. It’s real-time messaging, archiving and search for modern teams.
- Spotme - mobile event and conference apps for iOS, Android suitable for meetings of all sizes.
- Topi - enhances the mobile experience for event attendees by unlocking interactions in new ways and eliminate the use of name tag overflow. It includes standard features such as event schedules, maps, speaker information, etc.
- Vidyo - multi-platform video conferencing.
- Yammer – enterprise and team collaboration software and private social network.
- Zoho Connect- provides organizations a private social network to redefine the way employees and teams share information and collaborate with each other.
- Zoom - unified cloud video conferencing, online meetings, and cross platform group chat into one platform.
- Zulip - similar to Slack, hosted, per-organization. No publicly available information.
- Unison – a fast messenger and group collaboration tool that lets teams work more quickly together, especially across different locations and time zones.
###Misc Data Science
- CSV Kit - A suite of utilities for converting to and working with CSV.
- D3.js - a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data.
- Data Tables - a plug-in for the jQuery Javascript library. It is a highly flexible tool, based upon the foundations of progressive enhancement. Adds advanced interaction controls to HTML tables.
- Data Wrangler - an interactive tool for data cleaning and transformation.
- Datawrapper - to easily wreate charts and maps in four steps.
- eSpatial - to convert Excel spreadsheets into maps.
- TimeFlow - a visualization tool for temporal data.
- VIDA - to build, reuse and customize data visualizations with D3.JS in the cloud.
- VIDI - drupal data visualization modules.
###Examples of Innovative Platforms and Tools
- Access to Justice Author (A2J Author®) - a cloud based software tool that delivers greater access to justice for self-represented litigants by enabling non-technical authors from the courts, clerk’s offices, legal services organizations, and law schools to rapidly build and implement user friendly web-based interfaces for document assembly.
- AngelList - where the world meets startups. Investors: invest in early-stage startups. Startups: find team members, angel investors and venture capital.
- Airware - building the Aerial Information Platform for the development and safe operation of commercial drones.
- Houzz - the new way to design your home. Browse 4 million interior design photos, home decor, decorating ideas and home professionals online.
- Proteus - digital health feedback system is designed to provide actionable information that can improve patient care and self-health management.
- Shape Security - website defense. Instead of guessing about the nature of traffic, the ShapeShifter simply disables the capability of malware to interact with your website.
- Stripe - a suite of APIs that powers commerce for businesses of all sizes and a system that makes it easy for online retailers to process payments
- TechShop - a vibrant, creative community that provides access to tools, software and space. You can make virtually anything at TechShop.
- Vicarious - building a unified algorithmic architecture to achieve human-level intelligence in vision, language, and motor control.
- Please check for duplicates first.
- Keep descriptions short, simple and unbiased.
- Please make an individual commit for each suggestion
- Add a new category if needed.
Thanks for your suggestions!