Polco: Civic engagement platform launches in Dane Co.

Contact: Nick Mastronardi, (719) 357-9452
nick@polco.us

Crowdsourcing Platform Gives Community an Immediate Voice

[Madison, Wis.] – Residents of Dane County will have more opportunities to have their voices heard thanks to the county’s new partnership with online/mobile voting platform Polco.us, the company announced today. The Wisconsin Innovation Awards also announced Polco as the winner of its 2016 “People’s Choice Award” on Tuesday.

Registered voters and verified residents can now vote, offer their opinions, and be a part of active policy proposals without having to attend Dane County town halls. For the first time, citizen input can now be heard before officials vote at county board meetings. Polco’s Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) online and mobile crowdsourcing platform allows the most insightful suggestions and comments to rocket to the top for consideration by elected leaders.

“Keeping the public engaged in our policy decisions is vital to Dane County’s success,” said Scott McDonell, Dane County Clerk. “Polco has created a system that really brings public policy from the town hall to their fingertips. It will save our team time and money compared to replying to hundreds of emails or calls individually. We are excited to work with Polco to engage our citizens and support an innovative, award-winning startup founded by military veteran entrepreneurs based at UW-Madison’s University Research Park.”

“Polco’s platforms make voting easily accessible to busy, yet invested citizens simply cannot make it to a town hall,” said Nick Mastronardi, Ph.D., CEO & Founder. “County leaders can now make better decisions based on data gathered directly from their voting public. Polco takes the guesswork out of what the public is thinking and gives elected officials new data, analysis, & insights they need to make informed decisions.”

Polco makes it easy for Dane County residents to vote, comment, and share county policies from an iPhone App, web browsers, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The company offers a “Vote Now” widget that can be embedded into blogs, news articles, and websites. The platform mitigates the impact that a vocal minority can have in public debate, giving policy a foundation not skewed by emotion, but founded on true public sentiment.

Other communities using Polco to improve accuracy on public engagement include Bryan, TX, Jersey City, NJ, and Fayetville, GA. Polco won the Information Technology category of the 2016 Governor’s Business Plan competition in July and was selected as a finalist for the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce “Pressure Chamber” pitch competition in August.

Residents can create a free account at www.polco.us/signup and vote on Dane County policies at http://polco.us/groups/county/dane-county-wi.

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About Policy Confluence, Inc. (“Polco”)
“Save time and money connecting with your citizens.” Polco streamlines interactions between citizens and elected officials by providing an online/mobile crowdsourcing platform for local governments to post current issues and collect votes and comments. Headquartered at Bunker Labs Wisconsin in UW-Madison’s University Research Park, Polco was founded by military veteran entrepreneurs and launched in May of 2015 with the mission of modernizing the way citizens engage with their government. Visit http://polco.us/info/why to view a 1-minute video introduction and learn more.