HOLA: building a tech platform for better governance - ON-1146

Project type: Innovation
Desired discipline(s): Journalism / Media studies and communication, Social Sciences & Humanities, Political science, Public administration
Company: Changemakers Collective Inc.
Project Length: 4 to 6 months
Preferred start date: As soon as possible.
Language requirement: English
Location(s): Greater Toronto Area, ON, Canada
No. of positions: 1
Desired education level: Undergraduate/BachelorMaster'sRecent graduate
Open to applicants registered at an institution outside of Canada: No

About the company: 

ChangeMakers Collective is a civic tech startup founded by six experienced professionals from marketing, enterprise software, and technology backgrounds. The company is developing HOLA, a mobile platform that transforms democratic accountability by enabling continuous citizen engagement with elected representatives between election cycles.

The platform addresses widespread voter apathy and democratic disillusionment by allowing citizens to create personalized issue priorities, track government performance on those issues through automated data analysis, and provide real-time feedback to their representatives. HOLA aims to combines algorithmic performance tracking using public government data with real-time polling capabilities to fundamentally change the way we hold our leaders accountable.

ChangeMakers Collective's vision is to leverage technology to build more accountable government by fundamentally changing how citizens and elected leaders interact - shifting focus from merely who gets elected to how they actually govern once in office. The company aims to position Canada as a leader in citizen-centered democratic innovation while creating a scalable platform for international expansion.

Describe the project.: 

Changemakers Collective is developing HOLA (Hold Our Leaders Accountable), a mobile civic engagement platform that will empower citizens to choose issues that matter most to them, track performance on those issues and rate leaders based on their performance.

HOLA is not just a watchdog, but a leadership enablement tool. It will give leaders a clear roadmap of issues that are most important to their constituents, and provide them with tools like an instant polling capability to gauge public opinion on hot-button issues in real-time.

Changemakers Collective believes it's time to shift the conversation in democracies from merely who is elected to how they govern.

HOLA addresses critical gaps in current democratic processes where citizens have limited mechanisms to hold representatives accountable between election cycles.

One of HOLA's innovation is a cost-effective pulse polling capability that allows elected officials to gauge public opinion on controversial issues instantly. The performance tracking algorithm scrapes public government data sources (Elections Canada, parliamentary records, RSS feeds) to track if politicians are delivering on their promises.

Currently at Technology Readiness Level 4, the project aims to launch beta testing within 3-6 months, followed by a test market and a national rollout, positioning Canada as a leader in citizen-centered democratic innovation.

The selected candidate will work directly with the CEO and CTO to deliver on the following project objectives –

1. Validate that the core user logic of the platform is fit for purpose for the Canadian democracy and that it accurately represents Canadian public opinion
2. Develop personas for likely early users of the product
3. Develop typical use case flows for early users
4. Suggest improvements and new features that align with the overall product vision

Required expertise/skills: 

Essential Skills:
• A strong understanding of Political Theory, Democracy and the Canadian political landscape
• Interest in political representation and public opinion
• Experience with quantitiave methods, polling/ survey research methodologies, statistical analyses
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills

Additional Valuable Skills:
• Passionate about democratic reform and improving governance
• A good understanding of the political engagement of young voters, especially Gen Z and Millenials
• Digitally native, social media savvy