The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) releases the Citizens' Panel mobile application
The SDP Citizens’ Panel lets people influence and respond to interesting and current issues. Originally the Citizens’ Panel was set up in 2014 and based on email surveys.
Now, the Citizens' Panel has taken the form as a mobile app. Application users can share their views through the app and effortlessly participate in the development of the party. The application also provides information on SDP's policies and can be used to read party newsletters. The party takes advantage of the collected information to form their positions and to develop the organization. Anyone interested in politics and influencing the political process is welcome to use the Citizens’ Panel application.
The mobile app can be downloaded for free from Google Play and the AppStore. In addition, a browser-based version of the Citizens Panel will be implemented in September 2018.
"Using the app, it is possible to connect with party members, nonparty members and other people who are interested in SDP and politics in general" says SDP's Communications Manager, Iida Vallin. Vallin also commented "The Citizens' Panel also enables quick responses to specific topics. We can ask questions from the app users about current issues. We can also send push notifications about relevant issues and target questions according to people's own interests or, for example, their place of residence."
The application has now been used for over month and already has a couple of thousand users and tens of thousands of responses. The application has been enthusiastically received and SDP has collected extensive feedback from the application. "The Citizens' Panel provides a single platform for being heard and participating in the party's decision-making" says Vallin. “We look forward to using the Citizens’ Panel in the preparation of the SDP Parliamentary Election Program!"
There are clear plans and goals for future use of the application. The SDP's hope is that the Citizens' Panel app will raise important themes and political questions, which the party can then share with the application users and respondents. The reach of the Citizens’ Panel app will be further enhanced by a browser interface available to the public in September.
The SDP is a nationwide party of almost 40,000 members. The Social Democratic movement is a value-based social movement.
Future Dialog is a Finnish software startup company that provides digital solutions for the needs of different communities. Its customers include, in addition to political parties, municipalities and cities, colleges and various associations.
Iida Vallin
Communications Manager, SDP
tel +358 44 307 2281
Erno Launo
CEO, Future Dialog Oy
tel. +358 400 551502
