Whether in business, government or within an association, decisions become more effective the better they match the constituency’s perspective. However, hitting exactly the right tone remains complicated. Dembrane wants to solve that with an ingenious artificial intelligence-based tool that captures “the voice of the citizen” correctly. Rabobank recently decided to support the initiative with a Rabo Innovation Loan to accelerate Dembrane’s further development.
It’s not that executives before Dembrane didn’t look to connect as closely as possible with the target audience. The problem is only that our methods of gathering that information are time-consuming and not always accurate. We do surveys and neighborhood studies, organize user panels and residents’ evenings, and regularly get precious knowledge. But it is never complete, mainly because we often only speak to an upper layer of those involved. Moreover, these methods hardly allow for substantiation of facts or opinions, let alone an analysis of those outcomes.
Dembrane, a “demtech” startup from Eindhoven, wants to change that. The inventors have found a way to survey large groups of citizens about a given topic and, with the help of artificial intelligence, distill not only the main conclusions but also the nuances of what is happening within the group, including the corresponding sentiments. On top of that, Dembrane’s tool provides a rich array of classifiable quotes that can be directly linked to the (sub)question in question. This provides a broadly based and strongly substantiated picture of any issue we want to unravel.
Human and efficient
The system was initially built as a tool for democratic processes, explains Bram Delisse, Process & Team Lead at Dembrane. “We want to make it easy, human, and efficient to involve everyone in decision-making. Our underlying vision focuses on improving democratic processes. Also, because involving people in decision-making is not going well now.”
According to Delisse, this is partly because they are simply complicated processes and, relatedly, because they cost a lot of time – and thus money. “Just try to organize a public participation evening; a lot is involved, especially if you want to properly process all the information gathered there. It also often feels like an unmanageable process: when will you finally be done researching? So there are quite a few barriers, even while we know people always appreciate being involved in decision-making.”
Logically, municipalities and other governments are now Dembrane’s first customers. Construction companies have also already taken full advantage of it. Recently, Dembrane has its tooling that significantly facilitates the process. It works like this: the initiator (the one seeking information) places a question with some explanation in the app and shares it with the public via a QR code or link. The recipient opens the question and begins a conversation recorded on the phone. The information provided can be substantiated by uploading documents. The conversation can take place both individually and in groups. It has even happened in a room with attendees with one phone on each table. All those conversations do not have to occur simultaneously; as long as the participants use the same link, everything is collected in one environment. And, importantly, the results are anonymous; they can never be traced back to a person.
Democracy and football
Behind the scenes, Dembrane’s artificial intelligence plays the main role. It makes sense out of all that input, whether it is from a handful of participants or many thousands. The feedback is instantaneous; immediately after the first contributions are registered, the analysis process begins. What was said? What is the common denominator? What sentiments are recognizable? Which exact quotes belong to which specific conclusions? Dembrane’s ultimate goal is a better democracy, but there is also realism. Bram Delisse: “Of course, as a society, we still have a lot of steps to take before that. In the meantime, we hope to show what the effect is on a smaller scale, for example, in a municipality like Den Bosch, where we have tackled a mobility issue and are currently determining the next steps. Still, it could just as easily be at a local football club.”
“Or at Rabobank,” says Michel Ziekman, who was instrumental in granting the innovation loan for Dembrane as a startup and scale-up banker. “Not only do we see a future in Demrane as a company, we are actually going to use the services they offer ourselves. Exactly how that will work out, we are still figuring that out, but as an instrument, it can certainly play a role for us as a cooperative bank.”
Dembrane came on Rabobank’s radar thanks to the “bank table,” a meeting held regularly with the support of BOM and Brainport Development. “I had been tipped off about them before that, but was also immediately impressed by their story. After that, it all went very quickly.”
Trust
It was also a pleasant experience for Dembrane, says Delisse. “There was mutual trust right away, and even after the deal was done, we knew how to find each other well. We may be good at the technology, but we can use the expertise of Michel and his team when it comes to our commercial development, for example.”
Dembrane is currently hard at work getting the alpha version of the tool up and running, but it is open to a limited number of test users. You can sign up for an early access call through this link. Dembrane will then assess whether there is a logical fit.
Are you also a startup or scale-up, and would you like to know more about what Rabobank’s startup & scale-up team can do for you? Then contact Michel Ziekman at [email protected]. You can also attend an event on Thursday morning, October 24, especially for entrepreneurs who have received a Rabo Innovation Loan or think they might need this loan in the near future. Get in touch with fellow pioneers, share experiences, and discover new funding opportunities. Sign up here.
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