Weekly Open Call about Deliberation Tool
Case ID: CASE-LLE-2026-002
Executive Summary
This article documents how one person in Toronto started a grassroots movement around digital democracy tools, showing an unconventional path of community-building through weekly open calls rather than formal organizational structure. The facilitator made extreme personal sacrifices to dedicate full time and energy to promoting these tools across government, civic tech communities, and international conferences until a pandemic-era pause. What emerged was not a planned project but an organic collaboration where people connected through shared values around citizen engagement and sensemaking, forming a loose network that spread ideas globally.
Insights: Impactful community movements can emerge from consistent, value-driven outreach (weekly calls, conference presentations) without formal structure. Critical success factors included: starting with a clear "why" that resonated across diverse groups (government officials, civic technologists, citizens), maintaining regular gathering spaces that allowed organic collaboration. Future grassroots organizers should understand they can start meaningful movements without teams or funding, but must honestly assess whether they can access the social capital and risk tolerance needed to sustain personal sacrifice, or find alternative models that balance impact with sustainability.
