Collective intelligence

Every day, decisions are made that shape people's daily lives. Plans are adopted, services are rolled out, organisations are restructured. Often without the people affected being part of the process.

It's rarely about a lack of will. Most advisers, leaders and consultants want the best possible basis for their decisions, but gathering knowledge from many people is often time-consuming.

When the map doesn't match the terrain, we get processes that create resistance instead of ownership, services that solve the wrong problem, plans that end up in a drawer.

The good news is that the knowledge is out there. Employees know their working day better than the management reports. Users know where the shoe pinches. Residents know their neighbourhood better than the planners.

The philosopher Pierre Lévy called this knowledge collective intelligence. What if it were available to those who make the decisions? That is the motivation behind Aula: to build a platform for collective intelligence.