Makati Business Club (MBC) initiated the Digital Democracy project in 2020 with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) inspired by Taiwan’s experience using AI-driven platforms to guide government policy around Uber, Grab, and other ride-sharing applications.

The Digital Democracy project helps governments take the pulse of their constituents with digital tools. In 2020 and 2021, MBC piloted the project in Pasig, Manila, Legazpi and Iligan.

The process starts with identifying a relevant issue to the community and setting up the survey. Next, the government calls an opening citizen assembly to explain to participants why the issue is important. The government launches the survey during the opening citizen assembly. Then, participants vote on the issue, and the government analyzes the voting results. Next, the government calls for a closing citizen assembly to present the results to the participants to validate or disprove. Participants also provide recommendations to implement the results in the closing citizen assembly. In the final step, the government enacts policies and updates their constituents on what they plan to do. 

Through Digital Democracy, citizens provide input to government decision-making, even when mobility restrictions (such as during the COVID-19 pandemic) impede access to government offices. The government also benefits: it gets insights into what its constituents think and it is able to make better decisions informed by data.