Bridging citizens and leaders using CrowdSmart: Application with Village Media
Case Study
Organizational Vision & Mission
Common Good AI is dedicated to building common ground for the common good.
Our vision is for humanity to co-create breakthrough solutions at scale using AI technology to harness our innate collective intelligence. With a new form of human-powered AI, we promote inclusive civic engagement by transforming how communities debate ideas, identify shared goals, and find an actionable path forward together.
Background
Village Media is a leader in community-based journalism who reach five million subscribers in over 150 small communities across North America. They collaborate with local news outlets to generate successful business approaches and high integrity journalistic content to build profitable and sustainable local news sites. They are dedicated to making community news sustainable in markets of any size through a combination of industry-leading technology, community-based marketing programs, and award-winning editorial.
Village Media developed two community engagements powered by CrowdSmart’s digital technology, a platform used by Common Good AI to build consensus and generate action.
City Budget Planning
In December 2023, Village Media shared a CrowdSmart collaboration with its readership in Sault Ste Marie Municipality, Michigan. Located in the Upper Peninsula across the Canadian border, residents were asked to respond to questions on the 1. Importance of city services 2. Level of satisfaction with city services 3. Likelihood of supporting tax increase to inform ongoing advocacy city budget planning. Over 200 people responded to the information request and consensus focused on improving city infrastructure (100%), safety and security in public areas (94%), and housing (77%). Using the data, Village Media shared the findings with the city, who were set to prioritize funding a city arts building, and were required to reconsider given the community feedback generated through the digital collaboration.
Health Care Access Gaps
In May 2024, Village Media asked readers in Ontario, Canada about barriers to healthcare access. Over 1,500 individuals responded with 2,000+ inputs in the CrowdSmart platform about their experiences with a clear consensus on the service barriers and needed solutions. The AI platform generated alignment on the biggest issues people were facing in accessing health care. These included 1. Wait times and delays for emergency procedures, basic care, and surgeries 2. Lack of holistic care due to insurance and billing 3. Gaps in mental health care. The local media outlet, The Trillium, shared the community’s recommendations for action with the provincial health ministry and published a news article–and continues to engage the community to advocate for systemic improvements.
Moving Forward
Common Good AI is partnering with academics, foundations, non-profits, and a wide range of organizations to identify funding and opportunities to rigorously pilot its AI platform to promote inclusive community level engagement and civic dialogues to address critical issues like education, climate change, gun violence, political voice, and youth engagement, and others. Follow us by subscribing to our newsletter at Common Good AI.
