Method comparison

Quadratic voting vs consensus decision-making

Consensus decision-making tries to build agreement through discussion and revision. Quadratic voting measures how strongly people support or oppose the alternatives that remain.

Start a decisionSee the mechanism

Nicolas mechanism signals

These concepts follow the mathematical contract used by the app.

Convex cost

cost = c * sum a_ij^2

Voice budget

sum a_ij^2 <= B

Outcome rule

shifted softmax over support

What consensus reveals

Consensus processes can surface concerns, improve proposals, and build legitimacy before a decision. They are strongest when the group has time and trust to deliberate.

They can struggle when the group needs to compare many alternatives, quantify remaining disagreement, or decide how deep opposition really is.

What quadratic voting reveals

Quadratic voting gives a structured signal after discussion. Participants spend finite voice credits to show support or opposition across clear alternatives.

Nicolas can complement consensus by turning the final set of options into aggregate support, costs, and outcome probabilities.

How to choose

Use consensus when the group wants agreement-seeking deliberation and proposal refinement.

Use Nicolas when the group has named alternatives and needs an auditable preference-intensity signal.

Use cases

Where this decision model helps

Consensus fit

Facilitated processes where trust, discussion, and proposal revision are central.

Quadratic voting fit

Moments where alternatives are clear and the group needs a measurable signal.

Nicolas fit

Post-deliberation decisions needing support, opposition, delegation, and costs.

FAQ

Does Nicolas replace consensus?

No. Nicolas can be used after deliberation, but it does not provide facilitation, discussion, or proposal-revision workflows.

Can consensus and quadratic voting work together?

Yes. A group can deliberate first, refine alternatives, and then use Nicolas to measure preference intensity across the final options.

Where does consensus fit?

Consensus fits when the goal is shared agreement and the process has time for careful discussion before any structured vote.

Keep reading

Continue with adjacent concepts and practical Nicolas workflows.

Deliberative democracySee how Nicolas can sit after deliberation as a decision layer.Quadratic votingLearn how finite voice credits measure preference intensity.