SOCRATIC · Project

Crowdsourcing Platform That Turns Citizen Ideas into Actionable Sustainability Solutions

digitalTestedTRL 6Thin data (2/5)

Imagine a suggestion box — but instead of sitting in a lobby, it's online and open to thousands of people who care about making the world better. SOCRATIC built a platform where organizations post real sustainability challenges (like improving public health or education access), and citizens pitch solutions collaboratively. The best ideas get voted on and implemented. On top of that, the platform monitors social media to spot emerging sustainability issues before they become crises — like a radar for social problems.

By the numbers

EUR 1,308,465

EU funding for platform development

consortium partners across 3 countries

UN Sustainability Goals targeted in pilots (Goals 3, 4, 8)

total project deliverables produced

demo deliverables including validated prototype and video demonstrators

The business problem

What needed solving

Organizations — from city governments to corporations to NGOs — struggle to turn sustainability commitments into concrete action. They lack tools to systematically collect citizen ideas, prioritize the most promising solutions, and measure whether their sustainability efforts are actually making a difference. Most end up with expensive consultants producing reports, not community-driven solutions.

The solution

What was built

A validated full prototype platform (second version, post-assessment bug fixes) for crowdsourcing sustainability solutions, with gamification to keep users engaged. Also built: a Global Observatory on Sustainability Challenges that monitors social networks, plus demonstrator videos for each pilot covering UN Goals 3 (health), 4 (education), and 8 (employment).

Audience

Who needs this

ESG and sustainability departments at large corporations needing citizen engagement toolsNGOs running social innovation programs that need structured co-creation platformsCity innovation labs designing participatory sustainability strategiesCSR consulting firms looking for digital tools to deliver community-driven sustainability projectsUniversity technology transfer offices commercializing social innovation research

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Corporate Social Responsibility & ESG Consulting

enterprise

Target: CSR consulting firms or ESG departments at large corporations

If you are a CSR consultancy struggling to generate genuine community-driven sustainability initiatives for your clients — SOCRATIC developed a co-creation platform where citizens propose and collectively select innovative solutions for specific sustainability challenges. The platform was validated through pilots targeting 3 UN Sustainability Goals and includes social media monitoring to measure real-world impact of your ESG actions.

Non-Governmental Organizations

any

Target: NGOs focused on social innovation and citizen empowerment

If you are an NGO trying to engage communities in sustainability action but lack the digital tools to collect, rank, and implement ideas at scale — SOCRATIC built a validated prototype with gamification techniques to keep users engaged over time. The platform was piloted with CiberVoluntarios (a European NGO) across challenges in health, education, and employment, using a consortium of 6 partners across 3 countries.

Smart City & Municipal Innovation

enterprise

Target: City innovation labs or municipal sustainability offices

If you are a city administration looking to involve citizens in sustainability planning but drowning in unstructured feedback — SOCRATIC created a Global Observatory on Sustainability Challenges that monitors social networks and feeds real data into a structured co-creation process. The platform uses gamification to sustain citizen participation and was tested on 3 specific UN Goals covering health, education, and economic growth.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or deploy this platform?

Based on available project data, SOCRATIC was developed with EUR 1,308,465 in EU funding across 6 partners. The project produced a validated full prototype, but no commercial licensing terms or pricing models are documented in available data. You would need to contact the coordinator to discuss licensing.

Can this scale to thousands or millions of users?

The platform was designed with gamification techniques specifically to sustain user engagement at scale. It was piloted with an NGO (CiberVoluntarios) and university student innovators, but mass-scale deployment metrics are not available in project deliverables. The social media monitoring component (Global Observatory) was built to process large volumes of social network data.

Who owns the intellectual property?

The project was funded as an RIA (Research and Innovation Action) under Horizon 2020, with IP typically shared among the 6 consortium partners. The coordinator is Fundacion CiberVoluntarios in Spain. Specific IP licensing arrangements would need to be negotiated with the consortium.

Does this integrate with existing enterprise systems?

Based on available project data, SOCRATIC monitors social media platforms and feeds data into its co-creation engine. The validated full prototype went through a second version after assessment-driven bug fixes. However, specific API documentation or enterprise integration capabilities are not detailed in the available deliverables.

What evidence exists that this actually works?

The consortium produced a Validated Full Prototype (second version after bug-fix assessment) and demonstrator videos for each pilot. Pilots targeted 3 UN Sustainability Goals (health, education, economic growth) with real user groups. There are 19 total deliverables documenting the development and testing process.

Is this still actively maintained or supported?

The project closed in February 2018. With 4 research organizations out of 6 partners and only 1 industry partner, ongoing commercial maintenance is uncertain. The project website (socratic.eu) may contain current status information. Post-project support would depend on individual consortium members.

Consortium

Who built it

The SOCRATIC consortium is research-heavy: 4 out of 6 partners are research organizations, with only 1 university and 1 industry partner (17% industry ratio). Only 1 partner is an SME. The coordinator, Fundacion CiberVoluntarios (Spain), is a non-profit foundation rather than a commercial entity. Partners span 3 countries (Germany, Spain, Norway). For a business buyer, the low industry participation signals this is still primarily an academic tool — commercialization would likely require a technology company to take the platform to market. The involvement of a real NGO as coordinator does add credibility for social-sector deployment.

FUNDACION CIBERVOLUNTARIOSCoordinator · ES
INSTITUT FÜR ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMTECHNIK BREMEN GMBHparticipant · DE
STIFTELSEN SINTEFparticipant · NO
SINTEF ASparticipant · NO
NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNUparticipant · NO

How to reach the team

Fundacion CiberVoluntarios (Spain) — a European NGO specializing in digital empowerment. Contact through SciTransfer for introduction.

Order a report on this consortium See FUNDACION CIBERVOLUNTARIOS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how this citizen co-creation platform could power your sustainability or ESG initiatives? SciTransfer can connect you with the research team and help assess fit for your organization.

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