Démocratie Ouverte

What Démocratie Ouverte does

Démocratie Ouverte is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded around 2013 and headquartered at 84 avenue de la République, Paris, that develops tools, methods, and policy proposals to strengthen democratic transparency, cooperation, and citizen participation. It operates as an independent, non-partisan organization with 1-10 employees and a community-led growth model centered on a 1,000+ member base mobilized across France. The association's core product portfolio includes Dé'moMètre, a free digital platform co-constructed with members and partners to evaluate local democratic practice; DO-thèque, an open resource library of guides and methodological sheets; LabCamp, an innovation laboratory focused on democracy, youth, and climate; Dé'mocraNews, a monthly newsletter; and Dé'mocraTalks, a podcast. Adjacent offerings include the Fresque de la Démocratie, a collective intelligence workshop for understanding French democratic functioning.

The organization serves three primary customer segments: local collectivities and territorial governments (with named engagements including Région Occitanie and Région Centre-Val-de-Loire for Dé'moMètre deployment), public decision-makers and parliamentarians requiring evidence-based reform proposals, and engaged citizens plus civil society organizations seeking participatory governance tools. Political party internal reform is an emerging segment, evidenced by the 2023 engagement with EELV for its 150-day refoundation process. The business model combines libre prix (pay-what-you-want) annual memberships processed via HelloAsso, individual donations eligible for a 66% French tax deduction, and project-based institutional funding from regional government partnerships and coalitions such as the Pacte du pouvoir de vivre and Mouvement Associatif. No commercial product distribution or equity investment exists; the association is fully member-funded and grant-funded, with international reach through OECD and Open Government Partnership affiliations.

Name

Démocratie Ouverte

Legal name

DÉMOCRATIE OUVERTE

Website

https://democratieouverte.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Démocratie Ouverte is a French non-profit association founded in 2013 that builds digital tools, methodologies, and policy proposals to strengthen citizen participation and democratic governance, serving local governments, public decision-makers, and engaged citizens across France through its Dé'moMètre platform, resource library, and innovation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Technology and Democratic Innovation Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Democratic Governance & Public Administration Reform (BPADAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL), Democracy, Human Rights & Governance Assistance (BPADABAG)

Keywords

• Citizen participation tools
• Democratic innovation services
• Civic engagement platforms
• Participatory democracy methods
• Democratic evaluation tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees (Adhesion): Annual membership fees at libre prix (free pricing) with suggested amounts. Members gain voting rights and can participate in governance elections. 66% tax deduction available for French donors.
2. Donations: Public donations via HelloAsso platform. Association accepts financial support from individuals and organizations.
3. Institutional Funding: Partnership projects with public institutions including French regions (Occitanie, Centre-Val-de-Loire) and government bodies for democratic innovation initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Démocratie Ouverte is an independent, non-partisan French non-profit association that develops digital tools, methodologies, and advocacy resources to strengthen democratic participation and transparency. Its core offerings include the DémoMètre digital evaluation platform, participatory workshops (Fresque de la Démocratie), the DO-thèque resource library, and partnerships with French regions and municipalities for democratic innovation projects. The association also publishes a monthly newsletter (DémocraNews) and podcast (DémocraTalks) and runs an innovation lab (LabCamp) producing experimental democratic methodologies.

Product overview

Démocratie Ouverte is a non-profit association (association loi 1901) that offers a suite of civic technology tools and democratic innovation products centered around citizen participation and democratic governance. The core product portfolio includes the DémoMètre digital platform for evaluating local democracy, the DO-thèque resource library, the LabCamp innovation laboratory, along with media products like the DémocraNews newsletter and DémocraTalks podcast. The organization also produces the Fresque de la Démocratie participatory workshop. These products work together to provide a complete ecosystem for testing democratic methods, advocating for policy change, and mobilizing citizens around democratic renewal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DO-thèque: The resource library of Démocratie Ouverte, containing guides, studies, methodological sheets, and other materials for citizen participation and democratic innovation.
• DémoMètre
• DémocraNews
• DémocraTalks

Products and services

• DémoMètre A collaborative, open and free digital platform that enables citizens and local authorities to evaluate and improve local democratic life in a few clicks. Designed for use by regional governments and territorial collectivities.
• DémocraNews A monthly newsletter highlighting initiatives and actors who make democracy live daily in territories, associations, and institutions. Published on the third Wednesday of each month.
• DO-thèque An open resource library featuring guides, advocacy materials, and methodological sheets drawn from experiments and communities, serving as commons to help citizens implement more democracy everywhere.
• LabCamp An innovation laboratory that develops democratic experiments, particularly focused on youth, climate, and territories. Produces practical innovations such as 'Duos Complices' and 'Evaluation jeunesse des actions climat' methodologies.
• DémocraTalks A podcast launched by Démocratie Ouverte to discuss democratic engagement and innovation topics.
• Fresque de la Démocratie An interactive workshop using collective intelligence to help participants understand French democracy and its vulnerabilities through cooperative and engaging methods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1000+ members mobilized nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• CERDDmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in LabCamp 2024 innovation program on Democracy, Youths, Climate with CERDD, Crajep Hauts-de-France and MRES. Produced multiple democratic innovation resources including Duos Complices and Evaluation youth des actions climat.
• CRAJEP Hauts-de-FrancemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in LabCamp 2024 innovation program on Democracy, Youths, Climate with CERDD and MRES.
• MRESmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in LabCamp 2024 innovation program on Democracy, Youths, Climate with CERDD and Crajep Hauts-de-France.
• Mouvement AssociatifmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Full member admitted via extraordinary general assembly vote in January 2024, joining the French associative movement network.
• Pacte du pouvoir de vivremajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Coalition member as of October 2023, joining broader social and ecological transition coalition. Represented by Pauline Veron and Amandine Lebreton.
• EELV (Europe Ecologie Les Verts)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Expertise partnership for 150-day refoundation process. DO provides democratic quality method validation for party reorganization including wide citizen consultation, citizen conventions, and internal governance reform.
• Region OccitaniecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership for DemoMetre Regions project (2023-2024), co-constructing and experimenting with democratic evaluation tools for regional democracy practices. Joint initiative to deploy and test participatory and open evaluation methodology.
• Region Centre-Val-de-LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership for DemoMetre Regions project (2023-2024), deploying DemoMetre tool for evaluating and improving regional democratic practices with participatory approach.
• UNICEF FrancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-initiated tribune on youth democratic participation with UNICEF France, advocating for greater involvement of children and adolescents in political life.
• OECDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership through Mauricio Mejia Galvan as OECD expert on open government. Network on Democratic Resistance and international democratic alliance initiatives.
• A Vote (ONG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Clemence Pene (current co-president), organization fighting for civil rights and democratic progress. Clemence co-presided until 2025.
• Parlons DemocratiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated with Raphael Culliford as delegate general, focused on popular education and institutional reforms.
• Open Government Partnership (OGP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network participation through Democratic Resistance Network and OGP summit activities for sharing tools, practices and alliances against authoritarian dynamics.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Civicus: Global civil society alliance advocating for citizen participation and civic freedoms, comparable to DO as a multi-stakeholder civil society organization working on democratic renewal at scale.
• Transparency International France: Established French chapter of the global anti-corruption coalition, comparable to DO as a civic advocacy organization focused on governance transparency and democratic accountability.
• Open Government Partnership (OGP): International multi-stakeholder initiative of 75+ countries promoting transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the open government space where DO operates as a national civil society partner.

Direct peers

• Make.org: French civic tech organization operating large-scale citizen consultation platforms with public and private actors. Closely comparable given shared French base, focus on democratic participation tools, and B2G/B2B engagement model targeting public institutions.
• Decidim: Open-source digital participation platform born in Barcelona, used by hundreds of municipalities globally for participatory budgeting and citizen assemblies. Directly comparable to Démocratie Ouverte as a provider of civic participation infrastructure and democratic innovation tools.
• Cap Collectif: French civic tech consultancy building digital participation platforms (e.g., Consultations publiques, Décider ensemble). Comparable as a French provider of participatory democracy tools and methodologies to public institutions.
• La Fonda: French think tank devoted to the associative sector and citizen engagement, producing research and methodological resources. Directly comparable to DO's DO-thèque and advocacy work on democratic innovation within French civil society.
• Tous Élus: French civic tech organization working to renew political engagement and increase candidate diversity. Comparable given the leadership overlap (former DO co-president Audrey Fortassin was déléguée générale) and shared mission of democratic renewal.

Others

• Mouvement Associatif: National federation of French associations where DO became a full member in January 2024. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem player representing associative life and democratic engagement in France.

Regional players

• Fondation pour la Démocratie (React): European foundation supporting democratic innovation and citizen participation across multiple countries. Comparable as a broader European ecosystem actor in the democratic innovation space where DO operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/DemOuverte
• Facebookfacebook.com/DemocratieOuverte
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/d%C3%A9mocratie-ouverte
• Instagraminstagram.com/democratieouverte

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Démocratie Ouverte