The Collective Intelligence Company
Whatever your challenge, chances are others are already working on a solution.
We help your organization to harness the power of collective intelligence for wiser, more effective ways to work together and make decisions.
We are a distributed think tank with two main components.
The first one is a global online community of thousands of hackers, activists, radical thinkers and doers, and many others that want to make a difference. The second one is a social enterprise, which provides meaningful work opportunities to the members of the community. The latter, in return, lends its collective smarts to power the company’s activities. We are a natively distributed organization, with no HQ. We are incorporated in Tallinn, have offices in Brussels and Stockholm and regular collaborators in several other countries.
What makes us a social enterprise?
- We work for the common good, and will not accept business if we think that the ultimate effect of what we do is going to be detrimental for society at large.
- We employ members of our community – typically, brilliant misfits whom your average Human Resources department will never ever hire, and who would probably not want to work for you anyway.
- We share our corporate infrastructure. Anyone is encouraged to use Edgeryders as a “wrapper” for his or her project, as long as its values are consistent with our own and there is mutual trust on the ability to deliver.
- We don’t distribute profit. We reinvest it in the service of the community. We are a not-for-profit company according to our Articles of Association.
Visions and Values
Our vision — a world in which every human can live up to her potential as a creative, responsible being. We believe in full participation by everyone in the life of her community and that of the planet. So, we:
- Foster maximal diversity to attack systemic problems. We now know diversity trumps ability.
- Improve ability to analyse and interpret information. Produce and use data. Have a data strategy.
Our Mission — supporting self-sustaining projects and organizations for people to contribute to the common good. To achieve this, we:
- Seek out existing initiatives, organizations, people, places and networks.
- Acknowledge their good work and build on it.
- Do not duplicate them or compete with them.
- Stay open to help anyone who means well and is working on something promising.
People
Alberto Cottica
I specialize in collaborative governance, managing ICT-enabled public policy processes alongside citizens and fostering transparent policy delivery. With a knack for advocacy, I’ve driven adoption of innovative practices in conservative organizations, leveraging my skills in data and network science to analyze participation dynamics.
Matthias Ansorg
Computer scientist and technology generalist with a long experience in open source software and hardware development. A social innovator and digital entrepreneur who has studied alternative value measurement and non-monetary economic exchange mechanisms extensively for his award-winning commons funding platform PayCoupons (former Makerfox). Solid expertise in software development, integration and maintenance.
Nadia Alter
Nadia leads our commercial services and consulting work. In practice this translates into business development and building strategic partnerships. Prior to Edgeryders Nadia held business development and creative direction roles in advertising. A designer and engineer by training. Born in Sweden to African parents, raised in Europe and Asia.
Hugi Ásgeirsson
Co-creator of participatory events. Coder of tools for creative communities. Art lover. Occasional nature-dweller. Data-devouring analyst. Graph-enthusiast. And I like to make decentralised communities tick and tock. Born in Iceland, raised in Sweden, lived in China. Based in Stockholm.
Noemi Salantiu
A digital pioneer and co-founder of Edgeryders, adept at nurturing online collaboration and community engagement. With a focus on cultural innovation, she drives projects that foster personal and professional growth within the community.
John Coate
John, a community-building luminary, shaped online discourse at The WELL and co-founded sfgate.com. His extensive experience in online management and media innovation underscores his commitment to fostering lasting relationships in digital communities.
What We do
01. Research
The Edgeryders Research Network connects scholars in various domains for interdisciplinary research powered by collective intelligence. To do this at scale, we have developed a unique method based on the combination of ethnography and network science.
02. Deep Listening
Our approach to collective intelligence makes us very good at listening sympathetically. Whether you are a public authority running a public consultation or a company wishing to engage its employees on your long-term vision, we can help you overcome the many obstacles to a frank, respectful, fruitful conversation.
03. Remote Autonomous Work
We are ourselves a HQ-less, distributed company since inception, so we know that remote work can be unpleasant. When done right, however, it increases employees autonomy, productivity and happiness, while at the same time improving process and organizational memory. Based on this experience, we help other organizations implement Work From Home.
04. Future Economies
The twin transition to a digital and green economy is here, and it needs all of us on board if it is to succeed. But to be on board, we need to imagine that new economy, and that turns out to be hard. We use the storytelling power of science fiction and the rigour of economics and social science to build participatory scenarios of possible future economies.