Administrators are responsible for the technical functioning of the participation platform. They have access to the user interface for administrators (Django). There they can manage the accounts of the users, assign rights to project initiators and access and change all contents of the platform. They also have access to the CMS Wagtail and can, for example, edit the start page. You can reach the administrators at start@adhocracy.plus.

In the “interactive event” module, you must specify affiliations which are freely selectable, e.g. “politician”, “layperson” or “resident”. Users must classify questions accordingly and select an affiliation. The questions can be filtered by affiliation and evaluated in the statistics.

We don't want the same people to always have their say. The interactive event intends to make underrepresented groups visible during live discussions in order to consciously invite them into the discourse. This makes it easier for the moderator to facilitate a balanced and equal discussion and will make your event even more inclusive!

Completed projects or projects that are no longer to be displayed can be archived in the project's basic settings. They are still displayed in the dashboard, but no longer on the organization page.

For some modules (idea challenge, brainstorming, prioritization, interactive event, participatory budgeting) categories can be defined according to which contributions can be filtered. Categories are defined by the initiators and must be selected by the participants for the respective contributions. In the module “interactive event” the categories are decisive for the displayed statistics.

The creation of the organization is reserved for the administrators. If you want to create your own project on adhocracy+, please contact us. Here you will find details.

The reporting function enables all participants to report problematic contributions. The moderators decide in which cases contributions should be deleted or edited. However, the code of conduct provides a guideline for the evaluation of contributions on the platform. The code of conduct can be found under §4 of the Terms of use.

Project initiators can create a new project in the dashboard. Here you can find out exactly how this works.

The dashboard is the interface for initiators. Here you can change the settings, create participation projects, send newsletters and invite moderators. In addition, a project can be depublished or deleted from the dashboard.

Projects can be depublished at any time and are then no longer visible and accessible to participants. The depublish function can be used when a project is finished and should no longer be displayed, but you do not want to delete it either.

Projects can be duplicated in the Dashboard. To do this, click the arrow to the right of the “View/Preview” and “Edit” options and select “Duplicate”.

When a project is duplicated, inserted titles, description texts, images, selected map sections and project settings are copied. The following information will not be copied:

• Comments
• Created ideas
• Categories
• Features
• Topics
• Affiliations
• Live Stream
• Inserted Text (Comment Text Module)

You can edit your organizational information in the dashboard. To do this, go to “Edit Organization” in the top navigation. Here you can edit the following information:

• Title of your platform
• Slogan
• short description of your organization
• detailed description of your organization
• Imprint
• Logo
• Header image
• Language availability
• Default language for e-mails

Project initiators have the option of displaying events that take place in parallel to online participation in the project (e.g. workshops, kick-off or closing events). If an event is entered (with title, date, time and description text, photos and links can be included) it will appear in the timeline. Whoever follows the project will be informed about the event 3 days before the event starts.

adhocracy+ can be used for numerous digital participation formats in various fields of activity. The examples we have compiled will give you an idea of which questions and participation projects you can implement with which of the 10 modules available in adhocracy+. The examples are assigned to the following groups: Municipalities, citizens' assemblies, associations & NGOs, companies & cooperatives, politicians.

All contributions submitted to the project can be exported as an excel spreadsheet. This table shows all contents of the contributions including the user names, the number of ratings and comments, geo data for map modules, contents of the moderation tools etc. For reasons of clarity, there is a separate export for comments in addition to the export of ideas. After the project has been published, the tab “Export Excel” appears in the left navigation in the module settings.

Using the feedback function, the moderator can assign a processing status to submitted ideas (accepted = green, under consideration = yellow, rejected = red). This appears as a tag below the idea title. The moderation can also formulate an official feedback for the idea. The sender of the feedback is the organization behind the participation project.

Users can follow projects. They will then receive an automatically generated e-mail notification when

• a participation module starts
• a participation module ends (24 hours before)
• an event is coming up (3 days before)

Project initiators can also write newsletters to all followers.

The pictures in the header or on the tile are - together with the title and short description - the first eye-catcher, the figurehead of the project. They appear on the organization page in a so-called project tile or in the header area of the project. It is therefore important to design these three elements in such a way that they arouse the interest of the users. We recommend the selection of pictures/graphics without text. On the one hand, text on images could collide with the title and short description, as these are superimposed on the image/graphic. On the other hand, the text cannot be read by screen readers and is therefore not barrier-free. To ensure a good resolution, the images must have the following formats:

• Header image: min. 1300 pixels wide and 600 pixels high, max. 5 MB, as png, jpeg or gif.
• Tile image: at least 500 pixels wide and 300 pixels high, max. 5 MB, as png, jpeg or gif.

Please do not forget to indicate the creator(s) of the pictures. They appear at the top or bottom right of the image.

The information tab provides information about the background and contact persons of a project. As a project initiator, you can include all information relevant to participation, such as why the project was initiated and by whom, what the timetable for participation is and where to find further information. It is useful to specify a contact person for questions and comments. The information tab can be edited in the project settings under “Information”.

The initiators represent their organization on the platform and can create projects themselves and invite for participation. They have unlimited access to the user interface for project initiators, the so-called dashboard. There they can appoint moderators for specific projects.

To add further initiators of an organisation, please contact us at start@adhocracy.plus. The person must already be registered with a user profile to add him/her as an initiator.

For private projects, initiators must invite participants by e-mail in order for them to participate. They will then receive a standardized e-mail asking them to register on adhocracy.plus and join the project. The project is only visible for these joined persons. In the project settings the initiators can also see who has accepted the invitation and which invitations are still pending.

For some modules (brainstorming, prioritization, participatory budgeting), the initiators can predefine labels. This allows participants to add information to their ideas, which is displayed as tags below the idea title. A multiple selection is possible.

As an initiator you have the possibility to select several languages in the settings of your organization (“Edit organization”). If you select more than one language, the information about your organisation can be displayed in multiple languages. This does not apply to project information or posts/comments themselves. Languages can be added or removed by clicking on (+) or (-).

You can also set the default language for emails, e.g. to invite unregistered users to a project.

In the module “Interactive event” you have the possibility to embed a live stream. To do so, simply click on “Live Stream” in the bar on the left and then insert the URL of a video. It is easiest if the live stream is running on a video platform (Vimeo, Youtube).

The live stream is displayed above the submitted questions. This way, participants of an event can submit questions live via adhocracy+ to the moderator - no matter if they are on site or not. The participation of people who cannot attend an event in person is simplified by this function. In addition, questions can be tagged with affiliations.

In the modules 'Spatial Brainstomring' and 'Spatial Idea Challenge' initiators can define a map section within which ideas and contributions can be linked.

You can also turn off the map view and display ideas and contributions as a list instead.

The moderators have the function of accompanying the discussion fo the participation project. The moderator has no access to the dashboard. Moderators can be invited by the project initiators via e-mail using the project settings (dashboard).

The moderator will be informed about every new contribution via e-mail. They should at least make sure that the code of conduct is adhered to and delete or edit ideas and comments if necessary. In addition, further moderation tools are available to the moderator.

In addition to the overview as a user, moderators can also access the moderation dashboard via the “My overview” page.The moderation dashboard is the interface for moderators. Here all modules are displayed in a tile overview, in which the user takes the moderator role.In addition, the number of reported posts, the total number of comments, and the remaining time for participation are displayed in each of the module tiles. Clicking on one of the module tiles takes you to the comments overview. All comments within the participation module are displayed here. Here you can use the moderation tools to moderate the participation and give feedback on the comments, highlight or block them. The reported comments are shown with a note on how many times they have been reported since they were created.

If the moderator writes a comment, it is marked as a moderation comment.

To simplify the moderation, the following moderation tools are available: Feedback, note, reporting function, moderation comment, highlight comment, block comment.

Moderators are appointed by the initiators for individual projects. They do not get access to the dashboard. Their main task is to moderate the projects. There are moderation tools available for this purpose.

The moderator will also receive information about reported contributions. Therefore it is important that a moderation is used.

You can find further information on the topic of moderation here.

Each project consists of the project information and at least one module. There are 10 so-called templates for the modules to choose from. These templates determine the content and participation possibilities of the project. A project can have an unlimited number of modules. An overview of the module templates can be found here.

A module can be deleted from a project if the project is depublished and it is not added to the project (the button below the module “hide from project”). Then three small dots appear next to the module in the left navigation and the module can be deleted.

For organizations there is the possibility to send newsletters or infomails. In order to receive a newsletter, users must follow the project AND tick the box in the registration or user account settings that they wish to receive the corresponding e-mails. Newsletters can be created in the dashboard via the tab “Communication”. The sender of the newsletter is no-reply@adhocracy.plus. In addition to the name, the “Sender” field can be used to enter an e-mail address to which users can reply. The content of the newsletter consists of a logo of adhocracy+ as well as a formatable text and optionally a photo and links.

1. Follow a project
2. Check the box in the user account settings (“I would like to receive more information”)
3. Receive newsletter

Tip: In the Information tab of a project, draw users' attention to the Follow function with a short note. For project initiators, this has the advantage that you can reach more people via the newsletter and inform them about the project status or upcoming events.

The moderator can attach a note to each idea. This note is only visible to the moderators and the project initiators. The contents of the note are displayed in the export.

Participants can receive e-mail notifications for different activities within a project. If their own contribution is commented or provided with a moderation comment, the participant receives an e-mail. Participants only receive notifications regarding the participation period and events if they use the follow function. Moderators receive a notification for each submitted contribution and whenever a contribution is reported. Initiators receive notifications when a new project is created in their organisation.

Each participation module has one or more phases, which must be defined in the settings. The phase is the duration of a module within a project, i.e. from and until when participation is possible. A phase must be defined for all modules. Only for the ideas challenge, two phases must be defined: the first for submitting ideas and the second for evaluation. The phases are defined in the module settings in the dashboard.

Before you publish your project, you can preview how the project will look to the participants. So you can see directly where information is still missing or where an error has crept in. When you're happy with how your project looks in the preview, it's probably ready to be published.

If you only want to involve a certain group of participants, you can mark a participation project as private and invite the participants by e-mail. This is ideal for participation within committees or organizations, for example. Private projects are only visible to invited participants and are marked as private projects in the overview of projects on the organization page.

You can set your project to “private” in the project's basic settings. As soon as the project has been published, the menu item “Participants” will appear in the left navigation in private projects. Participants can only be invited after the project has been published. Invited participants will receive an automated e-mail asking them to register on adhocracy.plus and join the project. In the dashboard you can see who has registered and which invitations are still pending.

There is also the possibility to publish a project semi-publicly.

Title, short description and tile or background image are the first eye-catcher, the figurehead of the project. They appear on the organization page in a so-called project tile or in the header area of the project. It is therefore important to design these three elements in such a way that they arouse the interest of the users. A good title makes it clear at first glance what the topic or question is about. It should not be longer than 120 characters.

When all required fields in the project settings are filled in, the project can be published. A project cannot be published until a module is added to the project. It will then be visible on the organization page, either to everyone in public projects or only to invited participants in private projects. If settings need to be changed or the project should not be visible for a period of time, it can be depublished.

Users

To participate in projects, users must be registered on the platform. This is possible on the landing page. To register, a valid e-mail address must be entered and a password must be set. In addition, during registration, users define their user name, which also appears in comments. It is possible to enter a pseudonym as user name.

Organizations

How you can register your own organization in a few steps is explained here.

Participants have the possibility to report inappropriate contributions. The moderators will receive a corresponding notification and can decide how to proceed with the reported contribution.

The result tab should provide information at the beginning of the participation about what happens with the results or when an evaluation of the process can be expected. Knowing this is important for the participants and increases their motivation to participate. Once participation is complete, you can use the results tab to inform them about the outcomes. The results tab can be edited in the project settings under “Result”.

In addition to the options “private” or “public”, projects can also be set to “semi-public”. Participation projects can be viewed by non-invited users, but not edited or comments written. In the upper left corner of the project tile, the symbol of an eye appears instead of a lock, as is the case with private projects. This makes it clear whether a user can participate or not. The invitation works the same as in private projects.

The short description of the project is - together with the title and tile or background image - the first eye-catcher, the figurehead of the project. They appear on the organization page in a so-called project tile or in the header area of the project. It is therefore important to design these three elements in such a way that they arouse the interest of the users. To make sure that the contents and goals of the projects are brought to the point, we have set the short description to 250 characters.

If a project consists of several participation modules or if at least one event has been added to the project, a timeline appears in the project. You can use the timeline to chart the progress of the project. Modules whose participation periods (phases) overlap are grouped together under one point in the timeline.

In the Prioritization and Debate modules, the topics on which participants can make contributions must be defined and entered in advance.

By clicking on your own profile picture on the top right of the website, the user account settings can be accessed. In the profile, a user name and a preferred language must be set, all other details are optional. You can write a short biography, upload an avatar picture and point to a personal website. You can also change your password, add more email addresses and connect to social networks in the user account settings.

All projects are generally publicly visible (with the exception of those marked as private). Projects, ideas, comments can be read by everyone. Also visible are the number of ratings and the (intermediate) results from polls. Whoever registers can become active and participate in the projects. Participation consists of adding your own ideas, commenting on the ideas of others, rating ideas and comments and participating in polls. Users are bound to the respective participation phase and can only become active themselves during this period. Registered users can follow projects and subscribe to newsletters. In the user account settings you can manage your own profile.

In the tabs of a project “Information” and “Result” you have the option of embedding a video via URL. To do this, simply click on “Insert Media Embed” in the text editor and copy the URL of the desired video into the text field. It is easiest if the video has already been uploaded to a video platform (Vimeo, Youtube) and is linked.