About us
We build the infrastructure for collective intelligence.
The Computational Democracy Project is a nonprofit that develops Polis — open-source technology that helps groups of any size find common ground.
Mission
Technology should amplify listening, not just speaking.
Most online platforms optimize for engagement — likes, shares, outrage. Polis optimizes for understanding. We believe that when you give people the right tools, they can find the common ground that already exists among them.
Our mission is to build the open-source infrastructure that makes large-scale deliberation possible — for governments drafting policy, communities resolving disputes, and organizations making decisions that reflect what their people actually think.
2012
Founded
501(c)(3)
Nonprofit status
100%
Open source, always
Origin story
From Occupy to algorithms
In 2011, the Occupy movement and the Arab Spring showed the world that millions of people wanted to participate in shaping their societies. But the tools available — social media, town halls, online forums — rewarded the loudest voices, not the best ideas.
The founders of Polis — Colin Megill, Christopher Small, and Michael Bjorkegren — asked a different question: what if technology could help groups find what they agree on, instead of amplifying what divides them?
The answer was Polis: a system where participants write short statements and vote on each other's ideas. Under the hood, machine learning clusters people into opinion groups and surfaces the points of consensus — the ideas that bridge every divide.
Since then, Polis has been deployed in 50+ countries, used by national governments to shape legislation, and helped millions of people discover what they actually agree on.
Funding
How we're funded
The Computational Democracy Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We're funded by grants from major technology foundations and individual donations. Every dollar goes to code, research, and public deployment.
Foundation grants
Major technology and democracy foundations
Individual donors
People who believe in open-source democracy
Polis Pro revenue
Enterprise services sustain the free tier
Team
The people behind Polis
Colin Megill
Co-founder
Christopher Small
Co-founder
Michael Bjorkegren
Co-founder
Team photos and bios — coming soon.
Want to work with us?
Whether you're a government, researcher, funder, or open-source contributor — we'd love to hear from you.