Democracy method

Deliberative democracy still needs a decision layer

Deliberative democracy focuses on informed discussion before choice. Nicolas can help a group turn deliberated alternatives into a transparent intensity-aware decision signal.

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

Deliberation and decision are different jobs

A deliberative process needs evidence, facilitation, discussion, and time for participants to revise views. Nicolas is not designed to manage those parts.

Its fit comes later, when participants have alternatives in front of them and need to express support, opposition, and strength of preference.

Why a post-deliberation vote can still be nuanced

Even after deliberation, participants may still care at different intensities, which a majority vote can flatten into winner and loser.

Quadratic voting gives the process a way to preserve intensity in the final signal while keeping the cost of strong preferences explicit.

Good use cases

Good fits include prioritizing recommendations after a workshop, choosing among policy alternatives after evidence review, or finding which proposals carry deep concern.

Poor fits include unstructured discussion, public comment collection, moderation, sortition, or evidence management.

Use cases

Where this decision model helps

Recommendation prioritization

Rank deliberated recommendations by intensity-aware support and opposition.

Policy alternatives

Compare options after participants have heard evidence and arguments.

Minority concern signals

Detect concentrated opposition that a simple majority vote might miss.

FAQ

Does Nicolas host deliberation?

No. Nicolas does not replace facilitation, evidence review, or discussion tools. It can provide the voting layer after deliberation.

Why use quadratic voting after deliberation?

Deliberation can improve understanding, but participants may still care at different intensities. Quadratic voting lets that intensity appear in the final signal.

Can this work for citizens' assemblies?

It can support prioritization or recommendation votes after assembly deliberation, but it does not manage recruitment, sortition, or assembly facilitation.

Keep reading

Continue with adjacent concepts and practical Nicolas workflows.

Citizens' assemblySee how Nicolas can support recommendation prioritization after an assembly process.Quadratic votingLearn the mechanism behind finite voice budgets and squared vote costs.