What is Polis?
Polis is an interactive inclusive and fair online polling tool that helps groups of people have conversations and make decisions together. It’s especially useful when you want to understand what a large group thinks about a certain topic.
What makes Polis special?
- It listens to everyone equally.
- It avoids arguments or trolls because there’s no back-and-forth arguing.
- It helps us see what a whole community thinks, not just the loudest voices.
Who uses Polis?
Governments, cities, and organisations around the world use Polis to shape policies or decisions based on real input from the public.
How we Use Polis in XR
Polis can be a stand-alone tool, or used in conjuction with assemblies. Using Polis can strengthen community assembly processes 'by harvesting the wisdom of the crowd'. It produces reports statistically as well as meaningfully, which also allows for transparency of the process.
Contact the UK Assemblies team if you have questions, would like to get involved in this exciting new way of decision making, or if you need further support with XR's Polis tool.
Case study - Polis in Taiwan
What happened? The government of Taiwan used Polis to help decide how to regulate Uber, which was a controversial issue. Taxi drivers, Uber drivers, government officials, and everyday citizens all had different opinions.
The problem: People strongly disagreed. Taxi drivers wanted protection, while Uber users wanted cheaper, flexible rides. Traditional public meetings turned into shouting matches—no real progress.
How Polis helped: The digital minister, Audrey Tang, invited the public to use Polis online and thousands of people participated by voting on statements and adding their own. Polis grouped people into clusters of opinion (e.g., people who supported Uber vs. people who didn’t).
Most importantly, it found shared values across those groups, like:
- Drivers should be insured.
- Prices should be transparent.
- Passengers deserve safety.
The result: Polis helped the government find areas of agreement that everyone could live with. These ideas shaped new regulations that balanced safety, fairness, and innovation. Because people saw their voices reflected in the results, they were more willing to accept the final rules.
Why it worked:
- Everyone had an equal say.
- No one shouted or dominated the conversation.
- The government made decisions based on common ground, not just opinions from lobbyists or activists.
Audrey Tang talks about how Polis was used to help pass laws with public inclusion.