Making change happen
Connecting citizens and cities to shape the neighbourhoods of tomorrow. This is Common Ground.
Our mission is to bridge the gap between citizens and local governments by making civic participation transparent, accessible, and effective. We believe local residents are a city’s best experts, yet their voices are often lost in bureaucracy while cities miss valuable input from the public.
Leveraging AI-powered tools, we help citizens communicate their ideas clearly and visually, and provide cities with structured, intelligently processed feedback. This is what real collaborative urban planning looks like.
Citizen participation needs a refresh
High motivation meets low impact. The result is unresponsive and frustrated citizens.
of citizens demand more say in infrastructure and urban planning projects
TNS Emnid on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation (2012)
of citizens participate in Germany's largest city-wide participation project
Press release of the "Stuttgart Bürgerhaushalt" project (2023)
of urban project delays are due to a lack of societal and political acceptance
Study by the Harvard Kennedy School (2014)
of participants in civic engagement do not hold a higher education degree
Goethe University Frankfurt am Main on behalf of Mehr Demokratie e.V. (2019)
Communities are ready to get involved
Today’s tools hold them back with unnecessary barriers and poor usability. Here's how we fix it.
Other Platforms
Black Box
Citizens submit ideas but never hear back. Lack of transparency leads to frustration.
Resource Drain
Administrations drown in manual evaluation of unstructured emails and letters.
Guest Bubble
Only the 'usual suspects' participate. Results are rarely representative.
Tool Jungle
Isolated solutions and confusing apps cause citizens to drop out.
Common Ground
Transparent Loops
Automated status updates and clear visualization of how input shapes the outcome.
AI-Assisted Workflows
AI clusters similar ideas and summarizes feedback, saving hundreds of hours.
Intuitive by Design
AI-powered tools that assists in ideation and explanation of proposals, paired with a modern interface.
Unified Platform
One central hub for all projects. Single sign-on, maximum engagement.
Meet the team behind Common Ground
Professionals building modern tools and processes. We turn civic engagement into action.
Lukas Plenk
Business & Tech
Leading product strategy, business development, and overall technical direction.
Paul Walter
Software Engineering
Responsible for system architecture, implementation, and AI-powered solutions.
Raphael Wennmacher
Product Design
Designing thoughtful and user-centered experiences to lower barriers for participation.
Ready to transform your city?
We are just a message away. Connect with any of us on LinkedIn to start the conversation.