The Democracy Lab

Fake news and misinformation in Costa Rica leads to strikes, corruption, and angry citizens. A population with better access to transparent, objective, and quality information can understand, analyze, and participate in key decision processes. It also generates demand for necessary changes in the national development process. The Democracy Lab will prepare citizens of all strata and regions to promote a modern and effective democracy that encourages the development of the nation to its full potential. If scaled globally and applied correctly citizens could have information of easy access, that is transparent, and that will help them set the course of development for their country. 

The end of the 20th century saw a tremendous flourishing of democracy, but in the past decade this democratic wave has ebbed worldwide and receded dramatically in several countries. Particularly, in Latin America, democracies are jeopardized by a vicious cycle as populist leaders take advantage of weak institutions and weak rule of law to push authoritarian agendas, attacking democratic principles that help societies prosper. However, this cycle can be broken with citizen participation in their own governance.

For second year in a row Costa Rica is experiencing a rise in strikes of labour unions, that have paralyzed the country. These strikes are originated by the fact that a majority of the population is not informed correctly, doesn't understand the topic in hand, and that some people take advantage of the average citizen to implement their believes and politic strategy. Also, the Government lacks of initiatives to regulate all the services that are offered and a communication strategy. By transmitting transparent, clear, and easy information to digest for the public, the population can be more informed, and the information can serve as a bridge to generate new initiatives by the Government. 

The Democracy Lab works with public institutions, reporters, communities, local governments, and NGO's to make public perception studies, by using the Q Methodology, in order to improve the governance of Costa Rica. The needs of each stakeholder will be different. One example is that an NGO needs a study about the impact of the Nicaraguan migrant in Costa Rica - in order to help reduce the xenophobia - so the Democracy Lab will make the study, record a podcast, disseminate it, and organize food fairs with concerts and theatrical plays to portray the role of the Nicaraguan immigrant in Costa Rica based in facts, and not myths. All of the above are ways of educating the different groups that make the Costa Rican population.

Our solution is to be a reliable source of information for the population and a national opinion-maker; collaborate in the construction of trust between the various sectors and groups of society and develop highly accessible instruments to reach the majority of the country's population, through traditional and alternative dissemination methods. The services that the Democracy Lab offers are: i) dissemination and publication of reliable data, ii) Dissemination of objective analyzes, iii) follow-up to the country's governmental framework, iv) promotion of multisectoral dialogue, and v) research on key issues. In order to deliver the proposed services the Democracy Lab has the following products: i) contents on key issues of national policy (podcasts, youtube channel, short articles, stand up comedies...), ii) events to promote the dialogue (round tables, fairs, concerts...) iii) measure the performance of key actors, and iv) publication of white papers. 

The process and technology will vary depending on the need of the client. In some cases the Q Methodology will be implemented, which focuses on studying the subjectivity of individuals in order to determine most important issues in Costa Rica. Also, the Social Progress Index will be used with data mining - to calculate de spill overs of lack of progress of the communities, so a solution can be proposed. All of the investigation process will be published to the population in easy, fun, and accesible ways. 

The Democracy Lab improves the access of the diverse segments of the country's population to reliable and analyzed information, in alternative and easy ways to digest. This will allow them to form their own opinion regarding key issues of the development process; while strengthening the transparency of the main actors, and institutions of national politics. All of the above is focused on strengthening the trust and the social contract.The innovative aspect is the ways of transferring the information by alternative sources. For example, a podcast channel, theatrical plays, concerts, stand up comedies, youtube channel, food fairs, dialogue tables, a new app to track down particular Congress voting issues and much more. It will be more effective because the population is divided into segments and social classes, so the ways to inform them have to be different and they are not. Today, the main ways are newspapers and television channels, and some are from the right wing and others from the left, so it is really difficult to find neutral and objective information. The Democracy Lab will be based on facts, the scientific method and adapted to all the segments of the population. The Lab was founded by Dr. Álvaro Salas Castro and Dr. Juan Carlos Barahona alumni of the MIT media lab and is a national interest foundation publicly declared by the President of the country via decree. 

Q Methodology is used to study the subjectivity of people and come to a conclusion. In this case we are using it to determine the most important needs of the communities, so that the government or different organizations can focused and solve the problems in hand. For that, we are developing the prototype of an app to gather the information for the Q studies fast and realizable. Analyzing those results are crucial in the quest of transfering the most important information or carry out the necessary investigations to help in the development of the democracy of the country. 

In order to strengthen the social contract and the democracy of the country - the opinion of the main stakeholders and particularly the citizens have to be taken into consideration and Q Methodology allows to do that. Sometimes the government might think that the path to development is "XY" but the main companies that give employment to the majority of the Costa Ricans need "AB" - so Q Methodology allows to align the needs of all to parts to later define the path of action and through the alternative channels for the diffusion of knowledge curated by segment, our intent is to ignite national dialogues and potential reforms. We already successfully implemented this as part of the doctoral dissertation of one of our founders at the Costa Rican National Congress. 

Our solution addresses the problem in four different ways: 

i) Publish high quality documents base on the reliability of their data and the objectivity and balance of their analysis; as well as multiple contents in social networks; that allow the population, and its various segments, to identify and form their own opinion on issues of interest in national development and their own welfare.

ii) Plan local, regional and / or national events on topics of national importance for multiple audiences, to ensure that the key issues of development and collective well-being are made known, discussed and analyzed at an appropriate level for the different segments and strata of the population.

iii) Create simple and easy-to-understand instruments to measure the performance of the deputies, ministers and autonomous institutions of the country, in order that the citizens can control and evaluate the management of the country's political parties and parties.

iv) Publication and analysis of documents and analytical content on key issues of national development in a "white paper" format, to raise issues of importance to the attention of political actors, the media and various segments of the population.

Currently the Democracy Lab is serving two organizations:

i) One is an NGO focused on diminishing the existing xenophobia from Costa Ricans to Nicaraguans. So we are currently doing a study about the impact of the Nicaraguan migrant in the Costa Rican economy and social context. According to the most recent official data, 9% of the country's population was born abroad, with Nicaragua being the majority origin. When counting only their salaries, the contribution of the migrant population is 4.4% of GDP. The findings of this study will be later published in alternative ways to help decrease the myths that some of the Costa Rican population has. 

ii) The second project is a study of the spill overs and contribution to the development of communities that the Free Zone Parks have. This is because there are some foreign direct investment companies leaving the country and a great part of the population is attacking the Free Zone Regime because of the benefits it has. So the study will help determine the contribution that the companies under the Free Zone Regimen and the Free Zone Parks have in the country and communicate it to the population, so that they can be education and make decisions based of facts. For example, in 2013 the 296 companies registered within the RZF generated a total of 75,231 direct jobs, for 2017 the 360 companies reported within the RZF created 103,431 direct jobs, which is a important contribution to the job generation in the country. 

Our main goals are production and dissemination of high quality information, that will help men, women, young boys and girls, interest groups, economical sectors, government, NGO's, and political parties to take decisions based on facts, to help optimize the development of the country and that are consequent to the current needs. 

The Democracy Lab has 5 objectives/goals: 

i) Create a resource base that allows you to finance your activities without compromising your objectivity and independence.

ii) Establish high credibility as a source of information and objective, transparent and politically neutral analysis.

iii) Develop a capacity for communication and dissemination of modern, attractive and accessible information for the strata and target sectors.

iv) Establish a base of associates that share the philosophy and objectives and that guarantee the objectivity and diversity of points of view in the analysis of the DL. 

v) Establish robust strategic alliances (win-win) to enhance our internal capacity. 

Currently the Democracy Lab is facing a financial barrier, since it has no funding yet. All the 5 people that form part of the organization are working full time and pro bono. Also, we need to purchase data bases and softwares to help improve the research processes, but we lack of economical resources so we can't afford them. Currently the Headquarters of the organization were donated with a free rent period of two years, but starting the second year we have to pay a monthly rent. Economical sources are our biggest barrier, since we have a team ready to start transforming the information delivery process and offices. But we need to make it sustainable, so the organization can start focusing on what is important and not in how to survive the daily basis. 

The main barrier that the organization is facing is the lack of funding. Our current plan to overcome this barrier is by two ways:

i) We are organizing a gala night on November 7th (democracy day) - and invite all of our stake holders. In this gala we will do a theatrical play to portray the situation that our country is facing currently - were communism is starting to pop in, and the figure of "savior" is forming - putting in danger the democratic state that we live in. In the gala we will ask for funding and we hope to raise $150K to cover the needs of the first year- in order to focus on the pressing issues that our country is facing. 

ii) Apply to research grants to carefully conduct experiments  to advance the mission of different organizations in Costa Rica - that are align with the values of the Democracy Lab to fortify the national contract and the democracy - by delivering the user trustworthy, data based, and quality information.

i) Board of Directors: 7 philanthropists and business people.

ii) Full Time Staff: 1 General Manager, 3 Research associates, 1 pro bono assistant. Currently, all the full time staff is pro bono.

iii) Strategic Advisory Council: several individuals among the directors and the board who are the most available to advise in times needed.

iv) Research fellows and associates: provide most of the publications released and disseminated on its site.

v) Academic Advisory Council: made up of board members and other individuals with educational connections. They will be responsible for fostering strategic relationships with academic institutions at all levels

It is really hard to convince the most brilliant persons in Costa Rica in business, media, investigation, marine conservation, public participation, commerce, product development, entrepreneurship, statistics, and data analysis - to believe in an idea and to be part of it, without no monetary incentive. It is a group composed of people with different ideologies, religions, social background, and they all agree that The Democracy Lab has to be an organization apolitical and with no religion - to maintain the objectivity. They all want to help Costa Rica to go in the right path of economical and democratic development - and expect no recognition. 

To impact as many citizens as possible, the Democracy Lab must be a trusted non- ideological source of knowledge about democratic government, its processes, and its policies. The more neutral the public perception of the Democracy Lab, the greater the confidence that citizens will have in the knowledge produced and disseminated by the lab.

We are currently not partnering with any organizations, in the future it might be a possibility but is it not yet defined. 

Our Business Model Canvas is the following: 

The Democracy Lab hopes to bring financial sustainability by:

Grants/Donations for primary research initiatives

• Foreign foundations, NGOs (mostly U.S.)
• Costa Rican think tanks, foundations
• Maxwell and other university research grants
• Expected to represent 20% of first year funds

Individual donors (domestic and foreign, small and large)

• Set up online donation feature (tax deductible donations)
• Attend events where potential donors will also attend
• Work with advisory board to identify promising potential donors
• Expected to represent 50% of first year funds

Corporate Donors

• Engage with supportive enterprises which are either represented within TDL or are supportive of its goals
• Expected to represent 10% of first year funds

Fundraising and development

• Revenue generated from arts festivals and other cultural activities
• Expected to represent 20% of first year funds

Solve will help us achieve financial stability, to focus on the following: 

Knowledge in the first year will be through leveraging its growing network of Research Fellows to produce knowledge from information in their area of expertise. Academic research will be collected, conducted, and translated by TDL associates. This research will be made more communicable to non-experts through a variety of strategies.

TDL Podcast – One of the main vehicles for the delivery of TDL’s message and efforts will be a Spanish-language podcast, which will be hosted by TDL’s leaders. The podcast will disseminate the research it conducts, discuss contemporary issues affecting its listeners. Another goal of the podcast is to make participation in government more feasible and make policymakers seem more accessible and tangible through interviews/conversations with government officials, with politicians, with activists, and with academics. 

Public Forums – TDL will conduct monthly forums open to the public in which research carried out by TDL is discussed and citizens are made aware of issues affecting them in an understandable way which divorces exclusionary jargon and distills concepts down to truths which enable them to react and respond to them in an effective manner. 

Music, Art, Film, and Fashion – Through support, celebration, and utilization of the arts via DL hosted musical and artistic festivals, through the commissioning of work, through the advocacy by prominent cultural figures, TDL will build its brand and public recognition within the locations and demographics it seeks to support. 

The Democracy Lab is presently well-equipped to carry out its dual strategic objectives of Knowledge Production and Knowledge Dissemination.  Among its Board members and its Research Fellows it has a strong team with irreplaceable value. Its weaknesses are in large part due to its startup nature and limited time availability of its Executive Director – these issues are tied together and are in the process of changing.  

Competition in the form of think tanks is limited given our unique citizen focus and while there are many strong NGOs in Costa Rica, they are to be viewed as collaborators rather than competitors as we work to foster their ability to connect and benefit citizens through knowledge dissemination, and in many cases work together on research for knowledge production. This will serve to both elevate TDL’s status as well as benefit more citizens ability to participate in their governance.

i) Publish high quality documents base on the reliability of their data and the objectivity and balance of their analysis; as well as multiple contents in social networks; that allow the population, and its various segments, to identify and form their own opinion on issues of interest in national development and their own welfare.

ii) Plan local, regional and / or national events on topics of national importance for multiple audiences, to ensure that the key issues of development and collective well-being are made known, discussed and analyzed at an appropriate level for the different segments and strata of the population.

iii) Create simple and easy-to-understand instruments to measure the performance of the deputies, ministers and autonomous institutions of the country, in order that the citizens can control and evaluate the management of the country's political parties and parties.

iv) Publication and analysis of documents and analytical content on key issues of national development in a "white paper" format, to raise issues of importance to the attention of political actors, the media and various segments of the population.