What should you know about collective decidement?

Collective intelligence emerges when a sufficiently large group interacts in a single information environment, evaluating others’ proposals and contributing original ideas. Each contribution becomes part of other participants’ thinking context. The aim is to structure a shared space of solutions. We call this structured collective decision-making process collective decidement.

Brainstorming focuses primarily on generating ideas. Collective decidement integrates idea generation with systematic evaluation, comparison and prioritization. Before contributing an idea, participants evaluate earlier proposals. If they have something new to add, they submit one clear, original, non-repetitive idea.

A survey collects individual responses, while a vote typically shows how preferences are distributed. On the collective intelligence platform, participants interact with others’ proposals. The analysis therefore considers the structure of evaluations, convergence, polarization and different perspectives alongside overall support.

The platform is designed to reduce groupthink. Participants evaluate independently, while authors’ identities and interim aggregate results remain hidden during evaluation. This reduces the influence of status, authority and pressure to conform. An idea is evaluated on its contribution, rather than its author’s position.

We recommend at least 8 active participants in each project, with experience and expertise relevant to the task. Group size alone does not ensure a good result: the mix of knowledge and the quality of participation also matter. A cluster can include a larger pool of people, with different members participating in different projects.

No. If the organization or community lacks expertise needed for a particular problem, relevant external experts and practitioners can join the same decidement space. This is external expertise sourcing: bringing missing knowledge into the process.

A cluster is a pool of participants brought together around a field or area of work. It can be reused for successive projects in that area. Different cluster members may participate in different projects according to their knowledge and relevance to the task. The initial engagement includes three projects; the scope of further work is agreed separately.

A project addresses one clearly defined problem, question or decidement task within a cluster. A complex organizational problem may require a sequence of linked projects, with the findings of one helping to define the next. A cluster is the participant pool; a project is the specific task.

Projects run on the specialized Omnicracy collective intelligence platform. Participants anonymously submit and evaluate proposals. The resulting analysis can show rankings, convergence, different perspectives and polarization. Read more on the Platform page.

No. During evaluation, a proposal is separated from its author’s name, position and reputation. Interim aggregate results are also hidden. This helps participants assess proposals independently and reduces the influence of status and social pressure.

The platform uses accountable anonymity. Participants remain anonymous to one another, while the system preserves the connection between each person and their actions. Contributions therefore remain traceable and measurable, even though authorship is hidden during evaluation.

AI can help analyze information, generate alternatives and extend an analysis. Collective intelligence brings together people’s contextual knowledge, practical experience and evaluations of what matters. AI and collective intelligence can therefore complement one another, while responsibility for the final decision remains with the organization.

Yes. The initial engagement includes up to 45 minutes of introductory training to explain how to participate and work with the platform. Any further training or preparation for administering the platform is agreed according to the organization’s needs.

The minimum engagement is €2,800. It includes one cluster, three collective intelligence projects and up to 45 minutes of introductory training, for a group of up to 15 participants. Larger organizations and more extensive assignments receive an individual proposal based on the scope of work.

The next stage depends on the findings and the organization’s needs. It may involve further projects in the existing cluster, additional clusters for other areas of work, or training employees to administer the platform. Scope, support and pricing are agreed before the next stage begins.

The method can support businesses, public-sector organizations, local communities and distributed networks. It is suited to complex problems where relevant knowledge is spread across people and a sufficiently competent group can be brought into one interactive process.

If fewer than 8 suitable active participants can be brought together for a project and missing expertise cannot be sourced externally, the process lacks the participant base we recommend. In that situation, we would discuss another way to address the task.

No. Participation is asynchronous: people contribute within the agreed project period at a time that suits them. Idea submission and evaluation are interwoven throughout the process, so participants do not have to attend a single live brainstorming meeting.