Project leader: Mikko Rask, University of Helsinki, Finland
Project duration: 2020-2023
Participating countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland and the UK
Funding from NordForsk: 99,4965 EUR
Project website: COLDIGIT
The overall purpose of the COLDIGIT project was to generate new knowledge on innovative digital tools and approaches, in order to understand how they can support governance of complex societal processes in the Nordic region. The project catalogued 150-200 cases of innovative digital tools, created a conceptual model of the digital ecosystem of collective intelligence, studied obstacles and drivers of adoption and use of new technologies, and tested innovative solutions through a series of pilots on participatory budgeting projects in Finland, Sweden, and Norway.
Key Findings
- The COLDIGIT project explored how collective intelligence (CI) – the combination of human creativity and digital technologies – can improve public governance in the Nordic region. CI was used as a lens to develop and test new models for inclusive and participatory decision-making, working closely with municipalities and stakeholders.
- A central output was a digital repository that maps real-world examples of collective intelligence tools used in urban planning and civic engagement. This platform supported practice and research, informing a peer-reviewed article in Government Information Quarterly (2024) that identified key opportunities and risks in using digital participation technologies
- The project also advanced theoretical understanding by connecting CI to democratic innovation. A review article published in Societies (2024) showed how CI can reinforce participatory governance and deliberative democracy by enabling more inclusive and adaptive decision-making. These insights shaped how the researchers designed and evaluated participatory pilots across different city contexts.
- One of the key methodological contributions was the development of the CoCreation Radar (CC-Radar), a framework for evaluating the quality and significance of participatory processes. It was piloted in real-life cases in Helsinki, Gothenburg, and Trondheim, helping city officials and stakeholders assess how citizen input is recognised, prioritised, and used in decision-making.
Impact story
The COLDIGIT project laid the foundation for long-term innovation in democratic governance. In 2024, the team secured funding from Business Finland to further develop the Co-Creation Radar, a tool for evaluating participatory processes. This support enabled deeper collaboration with Finnish municipalities and strengthened the practical application of the project’s research in real-world governance settings.
Building on this success, COLDIGIT inspired the creation of Väki Insight Ltd, the first spinout company from the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Helsinki. Founded by project team members, the company now works with public organisations to improve citizen engagement and collective learning through methods first developed and tested within the project. In addition, COLDIGIT’s digital repository of participation tools served as a valuable resource for Nordic cities during the project, supporting knowledge exchange and inspiring experimentation across national contexts.
Key outputs
Shin, B., Floch, J., Rask, M., Bæck, P., Edgar, C., Berditchevskaia, A., … & Branlat, M. (2024). “A systematic analysis of digital tools for citizen participation”. Government Information Quarterly, 41(3), 101954.
Rask, M., & Shin, B. (2024). “Integrating Paths: Enhancing Deliberative Democracy Through Collective Intelligence Insights”. Societies, 14(12), 270. https://www.mdpi.com/2075 4698/14/12/270
Rask, M., Albayrak, T., Husukić, E., Nikšič, M., Shin, B., Tuominen, P., & Zejnilović, E. (2024). “Examining Civic Participation Across Diverse Contexts: Insights from the Co-Creation Radar”. In Placemaking in Practice Volume 2: Methodologies for Engagement in Placemaking (pp. 181–212). Brill.
Rask, M., Baeck, P., Floch, J., Tuominen, P., Edgar, C., & Shin, B. (2023). “Harnessing Collective Intelligence to Strengthen Democracy in the Nordics”. In Fast Track to Vision 2030, NordForsk, pp. 42–4
Rask, M., Baeck, P., & Edgar, C. (2023). Using collective intelligence to transform public institutions. Nesta. https://www.nesta.org.uk/project-updates/using-collective-intelligence to-transform-publicinstituitions
Shin, B., Rask, M., & Tuominen, P. (2022). “Learning through online participation: A longitudinal analysis of participatory budgeting using Big Data indicators”. Information Polity, 27(4), 517–538. Whittington, Oli. (2022). Democratic Innovation and Digital Participation. NESTA. https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/democratic-innovation-and-digital-participation-report/