What CiviQ does

CiviQ (legal entity Aphelion Ltd t/a CiviQ) is a privately-held Irish software company founded in 2012 in Dublin as a research spin-off from the SOWIT (Social Web for Inclusive and Transparent Democracy) project. The company operates two cloud-based products. OpenConsult is a consultation platform that captures text and map-based submissions, with interactive maps fully integrated into ArcGIS Online, accessible documents (including for visually impaired users), visualisations, multi-lingual interfaces, surveys and reporting dashboards. OpenInsights is a companion research platform that uses Q-methodology and Modified Borda Count consensus logic to surface shared viewpoints and areas of consensus/divergence on public issues. CiviQ's product surface is GDPR-compliant and ISO 9001-certified, and the technical stack centres on web-based consultation workflows rather than AI/ML models.

CiviQ sells into Irish, UK and Canadian public-sector buyers via a sales-led, demo-driven motion ("Book a Demo") with quote-based annual subscriptions on OpenConsult and OpenInsights. Revenue is supplemented by professional services covering research, data analysis, content publishing and engagement design, including work on EU Horizon projects. The customer base consists primarily of Irish local authorities (named clients include Kilkenny, Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin, Waterford, Galway County, Limerick, Kildare, Carlow, Sligo, Meath, Mayo, Wexford, Kerry, Cork City, Donegal, Westmeath, Laois, Wicklow, Louth and the Department of Finance and Climate Change), Irish semi-state bodies (EirGrid, ESB Networks, SONI), the National Transport Authority, and UK/Canadian accounts (Basingstoke referenced; Connexus housing association as a named private client).

The firm is led by co-founder and CEO Vanessa Liston alongside co-founder Mark O'Toole, with a 1-10 employee team operating from a headquarters in Business Barn, Kellystown Lane, Leixlip (Co. Kildare), a second Irish office in Maynooth Business Campus, and a Canadian office in Montreal. CiviQ holds recognition including the Eir e-Government Award for Accessibility, Council of Europe Democracy Incubator status, and HPSU SPRINT Winner, and has participated in European Commission research consortia on public participation, including a 2021 partnership with Renew Europe and Democratic Society for the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Name

CiviQ

Legal name

Aphelion Ltd t/a CiviQ

Website

https://civiq.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CiviQ is a Dublin-headquartered SaaS firm offering OpenConsult and OpenInsights, cloud platforms that help governments, local authorities and organisations run accessible online consultations and surface shared viewpoints in public opinion using Q-methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Engagement and Consultation Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry/Vertical Cloud Platforms (e.g., Gov/Healthcare/Financial Cloud Regions) (HDABAAAL)

Keywords

• Online consultation platforms
• Public engagement software
• Citizen participation tools
• Opinion analysis platforms
• Government consultation software

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Platform Subscription: Cloud-based SaaS subscription for OpenConsult and OpenInsights platforms. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company offers demonstrations and works directly with clients to provide tailored solutions.
2. Professional Services: Research, data analysis, consultation, and training services tailored for clients. Includes opinion data analysis, content publishing, consultation services, and research collaboration including EU Horizon projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CiviQ builds and sells two cloud-based SaaS platforms — OpenConsult, an online public consultation platform with interactive maps (ArcGIS-integrated), accessible documents, visualisations and consensus-finding tools, and OpenInsights, a research platform that applies Q-methodology to surface shared perspectives and areas of consensus in opinion data. The platforms are sold on a quote-based annual subscription to local authorities, government departments, semi-state agencies, and other organisations needing structured citizen and stakeholder engagement, supplemented by professional research, analysis, and consultation design services.

Product overview

CiviQ offers a platform-plus-products architecture comprising two distinct cloud-based products. OpenConsult is the primary consultation platform focused on quality interaction and feedback, powered by interactive maps, accessible documents, visualisations, and open data. OpenInsights is a companion research and opinion-insights platform that captures and visualises the full range of opinion and shared viewpoints on specific issues using Q-methodology. Together, they serve government organisations, local authorities, and businesses seeking quality online consultations and deep public opinion insights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OpenConsult: Award-winning cloud-based consultation platform for capturing text and map-based submission data with flexible reporting dashboards.
• OpenInsights

Products and services

• OpenConsult
• OpenInsights

Quantifiable outcome

• 16 local authorities used OpenConsult for Residential Zoned Land Tax consultations in 2022
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Renew EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Renew Europe, the third largest political group in the European Parliament, partnered with CiviQ to facilitate citizen discussion tables across Ireland as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe. CiviQ facilitated discussion tables in Cork and contributed to European citizen dialogue initiatives.
• Democratic SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Democratic Society partnered with Renew Europe to bring EU discussion tables to citizens, with CiviQ facilitating the Ireland component. Working together to enable citizen participation in the Future of Europe Conference.
• De Borda InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CiviQ partnered with De Borda Institute, DCU, and The Irish Times for an innovative voting experiment demonstrating how a national unity government could be elected using the Matrix voting method.
• Dublin City University (DCU)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016DCU collaborated with CiviQ and De Borda Institute on the 2016 Mock Dail voting experiment exploring alternative voting methods for government formation.
• The Irish TimesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016The Irish Times co-hosted the voting experiment with CiviQ, De Borda Institute, and DCU, providing media coverage for the innovative democratic participation initiative.
• ArcGIS OnlinecoreTechnology or IntegrationOpenConsult has full integration with ArcGIS Online. Users can leverage their existing ArcGIS webmaps within consultations and receive all submissions back into their ArcGIS map system.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bang the Table (EngagementHQ, owned by Granicus): Bang the Table's EngagementHQ is a community engagement platform widely used by local government in Australia, NZ, UK, and North America — overlapping directly with CiviQ's OpenConsult in features, customer base, and consultative sales motion.
• CitizenLab: CitizenLab is a Belgium-based SaaS for citizen participation and public consultation targeting municipalities and public sector organizations across Europe — the closest head-to-head competitor to CiviQ's OpenConsult/OpenInsights offering in scope, customer, and product model.
• Delib: Delib is a UK-based provider of citizen engagement and consultation platforms (e.g., Consultation Manager, Engagement Manager) used extensively by UK local authorities, directly competing with CiviQ in the British and Irish public-sector market it serves.

Regional players

• Open Government Products (Singapore): Open Government Products builds civic engagement and consultation tools for the Singapore government — operates a comparable citizen-feedback product in a different geography and represents a similar public-sector in-house build model that competes with private platforms like CiviQ.

Emerging players

• Pol.is: Pol.is is a deliberation and opinion-mapping platform using machine learning to find consensus, with overlaps to CiviQ's OpenInsights around surfacing shared perspectives in large opinion streams, especially in civic and policy contexts.
• Simply Stakeholders: Simply Stakeholders is a UK-based consultation and stakeholder engagement platform serving local authorities with comparable features (mapping, document consultation, surveys) — a small-scale direct competitor in the UK market CiviQ targets.
• CONSUL Democracy Foundation (Consul / Decidim): CONSUL and Decidim are open-source citizen participation platforms adopted by many cities (Madrid, Barcelona, and others) — a partially overlapping alternative in the same public-engagement niche, often preferred by budget-constrained municipalities.
• Tractivity: Tractivity is a stakeholder relationship and consultation management platform popular in UK local government — addresses the same stakeholder mapping, engagement logging, and consultation workflows as CiviQ for council-level buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Granicus: Granicus is a large-scale govtech suite including citizen engagement, communications, and meeting management, used by thousands of governments globally — a broad incumbent whose engagement portfolio competes with CiviQ while extending well beyond it.
• SurveyMonkey (Momentive): SurveyMonkey offers Enterprise/Government survey and feedback tools used by public-sector buyers — a broader incumbent whose survey functionality overlaps with CiviQ's lower-complexity consultation needs though it lacks the deep civic-engagement specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aphelionltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/CiviQEU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aphelion-ltd-

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CiviQ