Last updated a year ago
Legislation making requires a different perspective to be taken into consideration. How can we do it in a scalable and effective way?
Consenz: agreements building app that can be used to create an open legislation drafting process while keeping it professional and focused.
This is the total amount allocated to Consenz: Legislation Co-Creation.
In order to make sure that new legislation will be beneficial for the greater good and for the long term we have to give attention to the details, get professional input - from lawyers and other policy expert - together with feedback and comments from the general public (in our case - ADA and other crypto currencies holders). By doing so we will increase the chances of pro-crypto legislation to receive the needed support and to be approved.
Wide participation is the key for achieving it. Large number of participants and wide diversity that they will represent will make sure that different perspectives will be taken into consideration in the legislation drafting process.
But technically it is almost impossible if we keep using the current tools that have been used by the community. Google doc is not scalable, github is not user friendly for the non tech audience, voting tools give only a low resolution solution (approve/deny a whole document) and discussions platforms like reddit and other social media platforms produce way too much noise.
Our Solution
Consenz is an agreements building platform (funded in f7) that allows a large number of participants to take an active part in discussion and document editing.
By using consenz in legislation drafting we can widen the circle of participants in the process and create a collaborative, effective and focused product, while keeping it professional and without creating too much noise.
The following discussion-features make Consenz unique, compared to other platforms:
The process on consenz creates a "micro-democracy" system - an option to discuss the details of a draft by many users without limiting it to a small group of representatives. Consenz combines elements of - and is inspired by - liquid democracy, direct democracy, deliberative democracy and sociocracy.
The Project Status
Since 2018 we have been building a prototype of consenz (until lately it was available only in Hebrew) and in 2020-2021 we have completed a proof-of-concept phase. The app prototype has been used by diverse groups for different purposes in Israel, among them:
Now that we have been funded by the catalyst community we have started to design and build the MVP of the platform that will be used by DAOs and other organizations.
By using consenz in the process of creating bills and proposals for local, state, national and even multi-national institutions we will be able to improve the chances of those bills and proposals to get the needed support and been approved because of the following:
Opening the process of legislation drafting may be vulnerable to trolling, bots using and other harmful activities.
We plan to mitigate this risk by creating a community driven moderation system that will encourage trustworthy participants to identify and report those bad actors without using centralized censorship.
Implementation of this proposal will be on the MVP version of consenz that will be launched later this year (as described in our F7 funded proposal - https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/380926).
To modify and adjust the platform for the lobbying for favorable legislation challenge we will need to:
Total: 13,500 USD
The Team:
Consenz is a partner of ADAgov.org, Software Development Cooperative. Funded F4, F5, F6.
Consenz founder and project manager: Aharon Porath, a techno-social entrepreneur, worked with governmental and municipal agencies, a work that includes promoting legislation. Since 2011, Aharon has been involved in a few tech and non-tech ventures to develop consensus-based decision-making methods and platforms for distributed public participation goals.
Aharon has 6 years of experience as a project manager of web platforms and apps, among them - "Open Committee", a web app that enables environmental activists, NGOs and citizens to participate in the decision-making process of Israel's planning department, funded by the government's Israel Innovation Authority.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aharon-porath-90158962
Design and Development: Sofi is a software cooperative that provides solutions for municipalities, universities, startups, well-established companies, entrepreneurs and NGOs.
The coop model relies on decentralized, consensus-based decision making, as well as total influence and wage equality for all present and future members.
Product Manager: Roy Golan. Sofi Coop co-founder. Civic participation & collaboration tools enthusiast since 2012.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roy-golan-490069a2
Community Manager & Business Development: Ofry Erlich. Sofi's business development director. Political activist with expertise in political parties campaigns & internal processes.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ofry-ehrlich-470862119
UI/UX Designer: Tzur Sherzer. After managing a big design department, Tzur has joined the team as a lead designer, and is dedicated to the challenge of making the advanced deliberative democratic discussion interface accessible for people from all communities and backgrounds.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzursher
Software Architects and Developers: Aviran Katz, Nadav Moreno. With vast experience from dozens of projects, Aviran and Nadav will be leading the development team, with the backup of the entire Sofi development department, as well as external developers.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aviran-katz-491163b3
Progress will be majored by onboarding the community for use of consenz platform for the purpose of drafting and promoting favorable legislation.
KPI for 3 years after the launch will include -
Success of this project will be that consenz platform will become the standard tool for drafting favorable legislation for the crypto eco-system in 5 different countries at least.
Great success will be that the platform will be known as the standard tool for drafting favorable legislation for other social purposes as well.
https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/367771
https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/380928
https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/380926
Other consenz Fund8 proposals:
The fund from our F7 proposal is been used for building a MVP (minimal viable product) of the platform. This F8 proposal, if it will be funded, will be used to implement a legislation drafting process on the MVP version.
For that we plan to reach out for groups that are dealing with crypto regulation (so far we have been in touch with the Israeli Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and with the Center for Coin Liberty in Ghana), and offer them to upload to consenz legislation or principals drafts to a public discussion.
SDG goals:
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
SDG subgoals:
11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
17.16 Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
Key Performance Indicator (KPI):
11.3.2 Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically
16.3.3 Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism
16.6.2 Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services
16.7.1 Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups
16.7.2 Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group
17.16.1 Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the sustainable development goals
17.17.1 Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
NB: Monthly reporting was deprecated from January 2024 and replaced fully by the Milestones Program framework. Learn more here
10 years of working with governmental officials and municipalities to build and promote apps for public participation in decision making. Fund 7 funded proposer. A team that build prototype of the app proposed, Partnered with ADAGov - F4 (Completed) + Funded F5, F6 Proposals