A democratic society is predicated on the vision that voters choose leaders based on who has the best solutions to the most pressing issues faced by their community. However, too often the core questions at play in an election are obscured by vague party platforms or voting along differences in society, rather than important policy considerations. At the same time, political candidates are often unaware of the topics that matter most to citizens and may have difficulty articulating clear positions on significant questions of the day in concise, media-friendly ways.

Since 2000, NDI has worked with a broad range of political parties in Colombia to develop effective communication strategies that leverage new technologies to improve congressional-constituent relations. The recent launch of the Ciudadanía y Congresistas (aka Citizen and Legislators) platform is the latest example of such a project, which leveraged our Issues DemTool to strengthen the relationship between citizens and their members of congress.