Civify

We were inspired by the opportunity to improve everyday life by making local government truly understandable and accessible. Municipal decisions shape our neighborhoods more directly than any other level of government, yet critical details are too often buried inside complex, jargon-heavy documents, leaving renters, newcomers, and busy families out of the conversation. We believe that giving every resident clear, trustworthy, and timely information breaks down these barriers, expands civic participation, amplifies underrepresented voices, and ultimately leads to better decisions for the entire community.

Our solution, Civify, explains council proposals and decisions in plain language and shows where it stands and whether people can still have a say.

Residents get short summaries with clear statuses and the next meeting date, a “near me” search by address or ward, and guided steps for taking part.
Community groups and journalists get a stage timeline with votes and motions, and every sentence traces to its exact source page.
City Clerk staff stays in full control of all public-facing information, backed by complete version history and an audit trail. When staff upload an item, AI generates plain-language summaries and links every statement to its exact source. Automated checks verify every quote and number against the source, and two AI checks confirm the meaning; stages and votes are read directly from the official record.. Human oversight remains central: all flagged content, participation information, and deadlines are reviewed by staff alongside the highlighted source before publication..
Councillors and their staff get clear information and printable notice to share with constituents.

Reaching residents before participation deadlines: Most residents never visit council websites, so Civify delivers information where people already are. Residents subscribe by ward and receive SMS alerts when a new item in their ward is explained, with a link to the official record (delivery is simulated in this demo). For residents without smartphones, printable QR-code notices can be posted in libraries, community centres, and other public spaces.

Adoption of Civify starts with a low-risk pilot in a single clerk’s office over one council cycle, evaluated against four clear metrics: verification accuracy, reviewer workload, resident engagement, and publishing speed. Once proven, this exact operating model can be rapidly scaled across departments, councils, and neighboring municipalities with minimal setup effort.

Future iterations include multilingual support, improved accessibility for diverse groups of users, clearer participation guidance, personalized and “What’s changed” notifications.