INVOLVE FAQ

"Where can I find the app?" 

The app is available for smartphones in the app store for both iPhone and Android. Open the App Store or Google Play Store and search for "Involve by INVI," and it should pop up. Don't be confused if you see that the app is published by Iain Kettles—Iain is our developer! If you see the app with the slanted "V" logo, you're in the right place. 

“I haven’t received an email from you” 

If you are waiting for an invitation to Involve but have not yet received it, there could be several reasons for this: 

Firstly: Have you checked your spam filter? Sometimes "system emails" end up in the junk or spam folder, so start by looking there. 

Secondly: We may have invited you via your phone number. If so, you should have received a text message with a link. 

Finally, it may be that the project invitation has not yet been sent out, or that your email provider has blocked the invitation. If this is the case, please contact your local project contact person (INVI's local project partner) or us directly at INVI to have an invitation sent to you via text message or email. You can write to us at involve@invi.nu. 

“I received an invitation via text message, but I can't log in.” 

When you receive an invitation via text message, follow these steps to get started: 

Tap the link in the text message. You will then be guided through the process of downloading the app (if you haven't already done so) and tapping "join project." 

When you click on "join project," Involve will open and ask you to enter a phone number. Here, you must use the same phone number that received the text message and remember to include the country code (for example, +45 for Danish numbers). 

You will then receive a confirmation code via text message, which you enter in the app to confirm that it is you. 

If you do not receive a confirmation code after entering your phone number, try closing the app completely (make sure it is completely closed and not just minimized in the background). Then go through the steps again from the beginning – it should work. 

“Is there a difference between answering in writing and answering verbally?” 

No. You are free to choose how you want to contribute! If you record your answer as a memo, the app uses speech-to-text technology to transcribe your answer immediately. That way, we always end up with text – regardless of whether you type or record. The smart thing is that you can see the transcription immediately in the app, so you can review it and make corrections if there are any errors. 

“Why do you need access to my camera, location, notifications, and microphone?” 

In order for you to participate in a project, Involve will request various types of access to your phone. It is completely safe for you to grant the app these permissions. The app will only access your microphone or camera, for example, when you press "record." No data is collected in the background when you are not using the app. When you use the app, you have full control over what data is collected. 

If you want to know what the app may request access to—and why—we have provided an overview here: 

Camera: Involve uses your phone's camera so you can take a photo in response to photo-based questions. Permission to use the camera is necessary for the app to function. 

Microphone: Involve uses your phone's microphone so you can record your answer to a question. This is to make it easier and more accessible for you to participate! Permission to use the microphone is necessary for the app to function. 

Location (geolocation): Involve may ask for permission to record your geographical location. This only happens when you submit a response – there is no ongoing tracking of your location. At other times, your location is not recorded. Your data is always processed and analyzed anonymously, and location data is not used to infer anything about you as a person. 

Data is always used in aggregate form, and location information (if collected at all) is only used to examine geographical and spatial patterns in the themes we work with. This can, for example, help to reveal important patterns and trends across the country. 

You don't need to give us access to your location to use the app—it works fine without it. 

Notifications: Involve asks for permission to send you notifications. Don't worry, we won't spam you! We use notifications to keep you updated on what's happening in the project you're participating in. This could be messages about new activities in the project or updates on how your data is contributing. The purpose is to give you more transparency and a clearer experience of contributing to something meaningful. Ideally, you should be able to see what kinds of insights you are helping to create. 

“Will others be able to see my answers?” 

No. Your personal data in the app is only visible to you, and before we analyze anything in INVI, we "pseudonymize" your data. This means that we link your answers to a generic name (a pseudonym) and only use general, non-specific demographic information so that you cannot be identified as an individual. 

In the app, participants can be invited to "response rounds," where they respond to statements from others in the same project. Here, you will only see condensed summaries of others' opinions and statements—not the raw responses word for word. 

Before we start a round of responses, specialists at INVI review the submitted statements from a GDPR perspective and ensure that any sensitive and personal information is removed. 

That said, we encourage you to only share information about yourself that you feel comfortable sharing. At Involve, we are primarily interested in your opinions, experiences, and perspectives on a given issue. We will never directly ask you to share personal information that could be used to identify you as an individual, and we will not ask questions that encourage you to share information that falls under the category of particularly sensitive personal data (e.g., race/ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data, health information, sex life, or sexual orientation).  

In addition, the connection between you as a person and your answers will not be used for any purpose other than to enable you to manage your account and your data in Involve – and to enable us to identify you and your profile if you contact us with a request to have your data deleted.  

“Something isn’t working – what should I do?” 

First, try restarting the app. This resolves about 90% of issues and local errors. If the problem persists, please contact us at involve@invi.nu. We will get back to you as soon as possible and do our best to help.  

“How can I get in touch with you?” 

Please send an email to involve@invi.nu.  

“How did you create the app?” 

Involve was developed based on open source research and development from the Urban Belonging Project, led by Professor Anders Koed Madsen (DTU) and INVI's Director of Research and Development, Sofie Burgos-Thorsen, during her time as a researcher at Aalborg University – in collaboration with partners across research and industry. 

Launched in 2022, the Urban Belonging App was among the first to rethink data collection and citizen engagement by using digital and mobile technologies to enable large-scale qualitative data collection. Its development and application have been described in peer-reviewed scientific articles and received an EU Citizen Science Award in 2023. 

Involve builds on this foundation with new features and capabilities designed to support democratic innovation. The app was developed by INVI as part of our mission as an independent think tank and aims to ensure that more people can contribute meaningfully to how society deals with complex "wicked ." 

Whereas the Urban Belonging App was developed for—and continues to be used in—urban research and urban planning, Involve extends this work to a broader political and decision-making context. Here, the app makes it possible to systematically collect and analyze qualitative, local, and ethnographic data on a large scale. 

Finally, we are proud to contribute to the development of open source research tools in Denmark. Although the entire Involve code base is not publicly available, we actively contribute to the Urban Belonging ecosystem when new features or improvements have broader public value.