nesta.org.uk @nesta_uk
Mobilising collective intelligence to
tackle the COVID-19 threat
12 November 2020
Peter Baeck
Centre for Collective Intelligence Design, Nesta
peter.baeck@nesta.org.uk
@peterbaeck

nesta.org.uk @nesta_uk
What I’ll cover
– Introducing Collective Intelligence Design
– A CI response to COVID19
– Managing the next crisis through better crowd and
institution collaboration

Center for Collective
Intelligence Design
https://www.nesta.org.uk/project/centre-collective-intelligence-design/

Collective intelligence (CI) is created
when people work together, often
with the help of technology, to
mobilise a wider range of
information, ideas and insights to
address a challenge.
Making deliberate choices that
optimise the collective power of
groups is known as collective
intelligence design
what is collective
intelligence?

An old idea…
… reimagined

Advancing collective intelligence through
experiments, research, building new networks and
helping public institutions and NGOs use CI
methods

AI + Human Collective Intelligence
nesta.org.uk/report/future-minds-and-machines

Future opportunities in healthcare, tackling misinformation,
creativity and how we empower communities to address the
climate crisis
https://www.nesta.org.uk/toolkit/civicai/https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/minds-
machines-tales-future/

Designing collective intelligence projects and our work with the
UNPD
www.nesta.org.uk/cidplaybook

1. Predicting and modelling
outbreaks
2. Citizen Science
3. Real-time monitoring and
information
4. Social media mining projects
5. Serious games
6. Open source test kits
7. Sharing knowledge

Predicting the pandemic
and modelling outbreaks
● Blue Dot - Using AI,
traditional and novel
sources of citizen data
● Good Judgement,
using crowd
predictions to
understand what will
happen next

Citizen Science
● Fold.it - an online game
aimed at building a
protein that could block
the virus from infiltrating
human cells.
● Covid-19 and you. Citsci
project to understand How
the pandemic affecting
peoples day to day life?

https://theconversation.com/cor
onavirus-seven-ways-collective-in
telligence-is-tackling-the-pande
mic-133553
www.nesta.org.uk/feature/collec
tive-intelligence-and-smart-city/
https://distributeddesign.
eu/viral-design-book/

Preparing for the next
crisis.
Designing for better
crowd and institution
collaboration

Using Collective Intelligence to Solve Public Problems.
Analysis of 30 detailed case studies of using CI in public services and practical
guide
https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/using-collective-intelligence-solve-public-problems/

Questions