Textocracy was born out of a Lean Startup weekend for entrepreneurs, technologists, creative professionals and social innovators hosted by FutureEverything and the Greater Manchester Data Synchronisation Programme (GMDSP). It identified several themes in consultation with Greater Manchester’s Local Authorities, members of the public, and the innovation community, including:

• Digital Services
• Sustainable Economic Development and Circular Economy
• Public Services inc. Libraries and Emergency Response
• Smart Neighbourhoods
• Mobility and Transport
• Planning and Infrastructure

The call to action was to:

• Increase the range of voices in informing the provision of services
• Empower more residents to have a say in the improvement of their neighbourhood
• Make mobility more inclusive
• Get more voices heard in planning and other areas of collaboration

Textocracy won the grand prize of the weekend, which included a small development fund, user experience and service design expertise, including access to a developer from Digital Catapult, and exhibit space at the FutureEverything Conference. At this conference Textocracy received a good deal of attention and encouragement from a range of public sector, government, and technology representatives from all over the UK and Europe during the event.

Since that event Textocracy has undergone continuous research and development in both market validation and in exploration of the best text analysis method for its automation. Textocracy has been onboarding customers ever since!