Our mission

CitizenLab’s mission is to build stronger democracies by making public decision-making more inclusive, participatory, and responsive.

Our essence

We care about the success of your community engagement efforts as much as you do.

When you choose to work with us, we’ll be active partners and provide personal onboarding, dedicated support throughout your engagement initiatives, and peer learning from a growing network of governments and organizations running similar platforms around the world.

We’re on a mission to make democracy more inclusive, participatory, and responsive - and we know that mission begins with us. We are fully committed to being a workplace that values diverse backgrounds and perspectives, provides equitable opportunities, and builds an inclusive culture of belonging.

500+
Governments
of all sizes have worked with us and are now part of a fast-growing network of forward-thinking governments across 20 countries.
15,000+
Projects
across all policy domains: from urban planning and climate action to mobility and participatory budgeting.
1,000,000+community members activated
to shape the future of their communities by engaging in their local democracies.
CItizenLab

"A lot of times in local government everyone is excited about a new product but not everyone is trained to know and engage with the new initiative. The Government Success Manager from CitizenLab  really helped us to have people engaged across departments to make sure this program is successful.”

Milzy Carrasco
Director of Neighborhood Engagement, City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania (USA)
CitizienLab

“We presented the platform to our leadership team, and they absolutely lost their minds. They are so pumped for the site and the work it will enable us to do for the Comp Plan. Your team deserves a huge thank you for being so incredibly responsive and flexible and working with us to stand our platform up on such a short timeline. We really appreciate it!”

City of Seattle
Office of Planning & Community Development (WA, USA)
CitizienLab

"The way the data and stories were mapped geospatially helped communicate the need for pedestrianization to City Hall’s leaders. Suddenly, decision-makers could see themselves in the data through relatable stories that innovatively measured human experience and made the case for maintaining the elements that made them possible."

Edit the City! team
Philadelphia (USA)
CitizienLab

" With our digital community engagement platform, we have the opportunity for real-time feedback that meets the needs of the community – they can engage whenever it works for them, in multiple ways, because the platform is always up and running. "

Crandall O. Jones
Municipal Administrator of the Municipality of Norristown, Pennsylvania (USA)
CitizienLab

"I am immensely pleased that so many people made their voices heard and shared their ideas with us. The numerous positive ideas strengthen our policy and ensure that we can set priorities that reflect reality. The user-friendly and well-arranged platform that CitizenLab has certainly contributed to the success of our participation initiative.”

Mohamed Ridouani
Mayor, City of Leuven (Belgium)
CitizienLab

“When you drill down into the functionality you see that CitizenLab is more flexible, visually appealing, and user-friendly... I feel the way CitizenLab’s platform is set up fosters a positive participation environment [and] the fact that the back office is so easy to use has been a massive bonus because it doesn’t scare anyone away, no matter their comfort level with technology.”

Jennifer Maclean
Digital Services Team Leader (Stirling, UK)

Timeline

2015

Startup mode

Initially motivated by a local busy intersection in desperate need of improvements, CitizenLab’s young co-founders realized the complexity of traditional local government participation. On a digital nomad trip in South East Asia, a solution was born: CitizenLab!

2016

A year of firsts

Founded in Belgium, CitizenLab’s first client was the the Belgian city of Hasselt, which used the platform to co-create Kapermolen park. This was also the year CitizenLab was awarded its first round of funding and awards.

2017 & 2018

Cross-border growth

After a successful year of launching across Belgian cities and towns, CitizenLab hired its first teams  in the Netherlands (2017) and in France (2018).

2019

Leveling up

After receiving a $3 million second round of funding,  CitizenLab further grew its international presence by creating teams in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Chile.

2020

International expansion

CitizenLab decided to scale its mission to one of the world’s largest democracies: the United States. In the same year, it adjusted  its internal and external operations to the realities of a global pandemic, introducing features such as virtual workshops for continued community dialogue,

2021 & 2022

Scaling up

Today, CitizenLab’s global team of 50+ local experts is working with more than 300 local governments and organizations across 18 countries.

We further grew our international presence by partnering with teams in Norway, Sweden, and Türkiye.

Our impact

We help clients process an average of
10,000
pieces of community input monthly.
On average, each month
1,000
public servants use our platform.
Each month, approximately
30,000
community members participate in projects on CitizenLab platforms.

At CitizenLab, impact isn’t just an afterthought -  it’s a core part of our business.

In 2022 we were proud to become a Certified B Corporation and join a community of changemakers who are working collectively to address society’s most critical challenges.

Our B Corp score
87.7

Driven by the SDGs

It's CitizenLab's mission to build stronger local democracies. We do this by making community engagement and decision-making more inclusive, participatory, and responsive. Our theory of change is driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely 16.7: “Ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels".

2023 Impact Report

CitizenLab is made up of a dedicated team of innovators, strategists, and technologists committed to bringing democracy into the 21st century

Meet our team

26
Nationalities
50:50
Gender balance
24
Languages spoken

Wietse Van Ransbeeck

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Wietse Van Ransbeeck

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Aline Muylaert

Commercial Director & Co-Founder

Aline Muylaert

Commercial Director & Co-Founder

Koen Gremmelprez

Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder

Koen Gremmelprez

Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder

Andrea Conway

Account Executive US

Andrea Conway

Account Executive US

Amir Bolouryazad

Head of Marketing

Amir Bolouryazad

Head of Marketing

Joost Vandenbroele

Business Operations Manager

Joost Vandenbroele

Business Operations Manager

Sébastien Hoorens

NLP & Back-End Engineer

Sébastien Hoorens

NLP & Back-End Engineer

Brent Guffens

Tech Lead Structure

Brent Guffens

Tech Lead Structure

Sarah Horton

Director - North America

Sarah Horton

Director - North America

Pablo Valenzuela

Business Development Manager Chile

Pablo Valenzuela

Business Development Manager Chile

Colette Shields

Head of Government Success

Colette Shields

Head of Government Success

Søren Kielgast

Partner Denmark

Søren Kielgast

Partner Denmark

Lora Botev

Country Manager UK

Lora Botev

Country Manager UK

Sören Fillet

Content Marketing Manager

Sören Fillet

Content Marketing Manager

Jeroen Van Ransbeeck

Business Operations Manager

Jeroen Van Ransbeeck

Business Operations Manager

Marcela Ayarza

Digital Marketer Chile

Marcela Ayarza

Digital Marketer Chile

Hannah Adams

Account Executive - UK & Ireland

Hannah Adams

Account Executive - UK & Ireland

Francisca Lisbona

Government Success Manager LatAm

Francisca Lisbona

Government Success Manager LatAm

Adrien Dessy

Back-end Engineer

Adrien Dessy

Back-end Engineer

Emile Heymans

Head of Sales

Emile Heymans

Head of Sales

Stijn Zwarts

Government Support Specialist

Stijn Zwarts

Government Support Specialist

Lot Schuringa

People & Culture Manager

Lot Schuringa

People & Culture Manager

Iva Kopraleva

Front-End Chapter Lead

Iva Kopraleva

Front-End Chapter Lead

Fraser Henderson

Government Success Manager UK

Fraser Henderson

Government Success Manager UK

Eva Mayer

Business Development Lead DACH

Eva Mayer

Business Development Lead DACH

Anouk De Meulemeester

Government Success Manager Belgium

Anouk De Meulemeester

Government Success Manager Belgium

Nola Moreau

Customer Support Hero

Nola Moreau

Customer Support Hero

Ellen Batens

Head of Operations

Ellen Batens

Head of Operations

Luuc van der Zee

Front-End Engineer Engagement

Luuc van der Zee

Front-End Engineer Engagement

Simon Tharby

Full-stack Engineer

Simon Tharby

Full-stack Engineer

Roberto Andrade Pérez

Product Designer

Roberto Andrade Pérez

Product Designer

Alexander Rykhlitskiy

Full-stack Engineer

Alexander Rykhlitskiy

Full-stack Engineer

Zelda Bas

Government Success Manager France

Zelda Bas

Government Success Manager France

Dina Boshra

Junior Communications Manager

Dina Boshra

Junior Communications Manager

Isabela Sacramento

Brand Design Specialist

Isabela Sacramento

Brand Design Specialist

Jordan Houngbo

Finance & Administration Executive

Jordan Houngbo

Finance & Administration Executive

Jelena Gregorius

Senior Government Success Manager DACH

Jelena Gregorius

Senior Government Success Manager DACH

Amanda Anderson

Front-End Engineer

Amanda Anderson

Front-End Engineer

Natalie Ricklefs

Digital Marketing Manager US

Natalie Ricklefs

Digital Marketing Manager US

Pauline van Heerdt

Government Success Manager The Netherlands

Pauline van Heerdt

Government Success Manager The Netherlands

James Speake

Tech Lead Methods

James Speake

Tech Lead Methods

Irene Pedruelo

Head of Product

Irene Pedruelo

Head of Product

Edwin Kato

Front-End Engineer

Edwin Kato

Front-End Engineer

Danitza Vymazal

Government Success Director LatAm

Danitza Vymazal

Government Success Director LatAm

Brian Bruhn

Associated Partner CitizenLab Denmark

Brian Bruhn

Associated Partner CitizenLab Denmark

Sébastien Levoir

Business Development Representative France

Sébastien Levoir

Business Development Representative France

Yuri Martens

Business Development Lead Netherlands

Yuri Martens

Business Development Lead Netherlands
Wietse Van Ransbeeck
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Business Development
Aline Muylaert
Commercial Director & Co-Founder
Business Development
Koen Gremmelprez
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
Developers
Andrea Conway
Account Executive US
Business Development
Amir Bolouryazad
Head of Marketing
MKT
Joost Vandenbroele
Business Operations Manager
People & Operations
Sébastien Hoorens
NLP & Back-End Engineer
Developers
Brent Guffens
Tech Lead Structure
Developers
Sarah Horton
Director - North America
Business Development
Pablo Valenzuela
Business Development Manager Chile
Colette Shields
Head of Government Success
Government Success
Søren Kielgast
Partner Denmark
Lora Botev
Country Manager UK
Business Development
Sören Fillet
Content Marketing Manager
MKT
Jeroen Van Ransbeeck
Business Operations Manager
People & Operations
Marcela Ayarza
Digital Marketer Chile
Hannah Adams
Account Executive - UK & Ireland
Business Development
Francisca Lisbona
Government Success Manager LatAm
Government Success
Adrien Dessy
Back-end Engineer
Developers
Emile Heymans
Head of Sales
Business Development
Stijn Zwarts
Government Support Specialist
Government Success
Lot Schuringa
People & Culture Manager
People and Operations
Iva Kopraleva
Front-End Chapter Lead
Developers
Fraser Henderson
Government Success Manager UK
Government Success
Eva Mayer
Business Development Lead DACH
Business Development
Anouk De Meulemeester
Government Success Manager Belgium
Government Success
Nola Moreau
Customer Support Hero
Government Success
Ellen Batens
Head of Operations
People & Operations
Luuc van der Zee
Front-End Engineer Engagement
Developers
Simon Tharby
Full-stack Engineer
Developers
Roberto Andrade Pérez
Product Designer
Product
Alexander Rykhlitskiy
Full-stack Engineer
Developers
Zelda Bas
Government Success Manager France
Government Success
Dina Boshra
Junior Communications Manager
MKT
Isabela Sacramento
Brand Design Specialist
MKT
Jordan Houngbo
Finance & Administration Executive
People & Operations
Jelena Gregorius
Senior Government Success Manager DACH
Government Success
Amanda Anderson
Front-End Engineer
Developers
Natalie Ricklefs
Digital Marketing Manager US
MKT
Pauline van Heerdt
Government Success Manager The Netherlands
Government Success
James Speake
Tech Lead Methods
Developers
Irene Pedruelo
Head of Product
Product
Edwin Kato
Front-End Engineer
Developers
Danitza Vymazal
Government Success Director LatAm
Government Success
Brian Bruhn
Associated Partner CitizenLab Denmark
Business Development
Sébastien Levoir
Business Development Representative France
Business Development
Yuri Martens
Business Development Lead Netherlands
Business Development

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