What is Comhairle
Pronounced “kuh-ur-lhya”, Comhairle is an online platform designed to make it much easier for people to participate in how decisions are made in government and public life. Public consultations often end up as box-ticking exercises, difficult for everyday people to access or influence. Cormhairle enables policymakers to quickly set up engaging, accessible participation processes. Comhairle enables participants to see the impact of their contributions on decisions.
Importantly, Comhairle doesn’t aim to replace the role of skilled facilitators or the value of human conversation. Instead, it supports them, making it easier and more rewarding for both the public and organisers to get involved. The platform helps guide people through structured discussions on policies or challenges, using AI-enhanced features that summarise feedback and make sense of complex topics.
Ultimately, Comhairle is all about helping more people have a real say in decisions that affect their lives, supporting better, fairer outcomes.
Who are CrownShy?
CrownShy was started in 2024 to operate at the crossroads of technology, facilitation practices, and dialogue, with a mission of empowering individuals, groups, and societies to collectively self-govern. Our team brings decades of expertise spanning collective intelligence, facilitation, civic technologies, process and interface design, artificial intelligence, participatory science, social movements and grassroots organizing. We specialize in designing comprehensive, end-to-end systems that elevate and expand democratic practices all while prioritizing meaningful human connection.