Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Main

💡 In simple words: WikiDeal has lots of clever, fair ideas built into it, about money, trust, sharing, and solving arguments. This page is the big list where you can find every one of them and read what each does.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): The innovations listed here are tested and refined step by step, and they interact with one another: what matters is the whole, not any single part. The intent is not to reinvent the wheel, but to assemble existing ideas into a globally functional ensemble. This page is an index: each innovation is one table row with a very short description; the full explanation lives on its dedicated page.

Summary

• Principles
• Innovation criteria
• How to read this page
• Foundations
• WikiDeal ecosystem at large
• Specific marketplaces

WikiDeal socio-economic innovations

Innovations index, WikiDeal R&D. Each innovation is one table row; the full explanation lives on its dedicated page.

Principles

None of the ideas gathered here is a total innovation, and none is zero innovation. Each one is inspired by others: this work belongs to the mix culture, and what becomes interesting is the assembly of the whole. Sometimes an idea is simply better calibrated, better highlighted or better deployed here, or the context is favourable to test it.

The process is an iterative process: each innovation moves forward in short cycles (design, test, collect feedback through qualitative and quantitative analyses, adjust, test again), so that every cycle produces a version slightly better than the previous one. This is the logic of action research and of successive refinement, and it is at the heart of the wiki culture that produced Wikipedia: publish early, improve continuously, keep every version, learn while doing, keeping a balance between overall coherence and going to the essentials. Some innovations are planned for testing and not yet deployed.

The innovations form two parts, both listed on this page to give a global vision: the core, meaning the innovations that concern the WikiDeal ecosystem at large, and the innovations specific to the marketplaces. The majority of the innovations are expected to appear progressively in the different marketplaces.

The list is open and unlimited: the count does not matter, only the innovations do. These are intended as citizen-initiated innovations: ideas stemming from citizen initiative, proposed and refined in the open. The methodology envisaged to move them from idea to prototype and deployment (five work profiles combined with open calls) is described on the AI Supported Deployment page.

For the broader philosophical context of this research, see the Intention and Vision of the research program.

Two foundational principles carry all the others:

• Innovation number one: participative agreement design. Agreements designed participatively, together with the whole contributive ecosystem built around them (compensatory measures, amendments, use cases, legal references, common errors, alerts, expected-results models, quality criteria), endorsed by lawyers; the contracts are intended to be fair, balanced and consumer approved, serving the interests of users and providers, not the interests of third-party structures. The double platform (contract models endorsed by lawyers, plus smartphone applications built on those models) is the technical element supporting this innovation.
• Innovation number two: the same governance as Wikipedia, applied to deals and marketplaces instead of encyclopedic knowledge.

Both appear as rows in the Foundations table below, with their dedicated pages.

Innovation criteria

What qualifies an idea as an innovation worth listing here? The criteria below guide the selection. The first five reflect the current working basis; the last three are additional proposals, offered as a basis for discussion. These criteria are intended to be revisited in connection with the Vision portal.

1. It answers a real need. An innovation is retained because it addresses a concrete problem, not for the pleasure of studying it.
2. The devil is in the details. Sometimes a single detail, better calibrated, makes a large difference in practice.
3. A new field of application. Applying an existing mechanism to a field where it is not common counts as innovation: for example, applying the free licences of the software and knowledge world, such as CC BY-SA, to contracts is not common practice.
4. Anonymous, privacy-respecting data collection. The innovation allows qualitative and quantitative analyses without exposing personal data.
5. Societal good. In synthesis: fairness and preservation. The innovation contributes to societal fairness (equity of chances) and to the preservation of common non-renewable resources, material as well as immaterial, reducing the weakening of life on Earth, in a context where the United Nations and scientific bodies document the beginning of a mass extinction: see the IPBES 2019 Global Assessment, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and the United Nations overview on biodiversity and climate.
6. Reversibility (proposed, basis for discussion). An innovation should be testable and measurable, and it should be possible to roll it back without harming the people who tried it.
7. Transferability (proposed, basis for discussion). An innovation should work across countries and legal systems, or at least clearly document the adaptations it needs.
8. Simplicity of access (proposed, basis for discussion). An innovation should be understandable and usable without expert knowledge, so that it does not create a new elite of specialists.

How to read this page

Every innovation appears as one table row, with a link to its dedicated page and a very short description. The origin of each innovation is documented on its own page and in the credits.

Each table also proposes an integration status indicating the maturity of the innovation within the WikiDeal research program. The scale uses the following 5-level taxonomy:

• Conceptualization & Invention: We are actively inventing or shaping the solution (e.g., the Needs-driven stabilizer).
• First Hypothesis Formalized: The initial concept is documented and ready for community feedback.
• Ready for Experimentation: The mechanism (often adapted from existing models) is configured and ready to be tested.
• Pilot Experience Mode: The innovation is currently undergoing live testing and pilot deployment (e.g., Open Calls).
• Documented and Adopted: Fully integrated and active as a core rule of the platform (e.g., Libre Licensing).

Foundations

Innovation	Integration status	Summary
Participative Agreement Design	First hypothesis formalized	Participative design of agreements and of the contributive ecosystem around them (compensatory measures, amendments, use cases, legal references, common errors, alerts, expected-results models, quality criteria), endorsed by lawyers; the double platform is the supporting technical element.
Wikipedia Governance	First hypothesis formalized	The same governance as Wikipedia, applied to deals and marketplaces instead of encyclopedic knowledge.
Collaborative Contract Editing	Ready for experimentation	(Concept: Ynternet.org Foundation, see credits) Contracts drafted participatively on a wiki, organized around common contract bases, then endorsed by lawyers.

WikiDeal ecosystem at large

The first block, the core, gathers the innovations that concern the whole WikiDeal ecosystem.

Governance

Marketplace quality is intended to rest on governance mechanisms rather than on a central authority.

Innovation	Integration status	Summary
Hybrid Governance Model	Under study	A hybrid of three sources: the open rule-making of Wikipedia and the free software movement, the at-cost management and user ownership of cooperatives, and Swiss-style collegial executives elected by an assembly of delegates. Detailed on the Governance page.
Co-opetition	Under study	User groups compete and cooperate at once: quality without destructive rivalry.
Peer Endorsement	Under study	Lawyers endorse contracts: a named accountable responsibility, with additional paid services in case of adaptation or dispute.
Rating Balancing Policy	Under study	Proactive balancing of marketplace ratings, keeping feedback honest, calibrated and diversified.
Bonding Curve	First Hypothesis Formalized	(Concept: Ynternet.org Foundation, see credits) Transparent algorithm converting funding contributions into Rewards (the association of the bonding curve and rewards is a core Ynternet.org concept); early funders get more per CHF.
Need-Driven Funding	Conceptualization & Invention	(Concept: Ynternet.org Foundation, see credits) Reward ratio regulation: a second algorithm adjusting rewards to the real needs of the platform.
Annual Value Increase (draft Open Call)	Under study	Possible annual increase on rewards, under study through a draft Open Call; the multiplier is considered more relevant than an added percentage.
Double Commission	Under study	Two small, transparent fees per transaction: a platform fee and a User Group fee.
Deprivatization	Under study	Reclaiming extractive markets as user-governed commons; forms one whole with Exit to Community and Rewards.
Exit to Community	First hypothesis formalized	Progressive transfer of governance, ownership and value to the user community; donation-based, legally non-speculative.
Time and Resource Bank (Karma tokens)	Under study	Exchange of unexploited resources via Karma tokens: not a currency, facilities comparable to discounts. By sharing unused resources and/or contributing as a volunteer, you can earn Karma tokens, usable within your Rings of Trust to get access to services and goods such as housing, transportation or food (initial hypothesis; not a currency in the legal sense). "Karma token" is a working name and may change.
CHF 1/Month Subscription	Under study	Solidarity-priced membership; one month of usage = CHF 1 nominal.
Subscription or Membership	Under study	Naming reflection: subscribers would also be members with voting rights; "subscription" chosen as the more inclusive term.
Civic Incentive (Civic Flex Pricing)	Under study	Better prices and other advantages rewarding civic participation (voting, volunteering, workshops), applied through flexible pricing; the average discount is the subject of a draft Open Call.

Trust and security

Trust and security combine dispute resolution, reconciliation processes and interoperability agreements between user groups.

Innovation	Integration status	Summary
Arbitration Chambers	First Hypothesis Formalized	(Concept: Ynternet.org Foundation, see credits) Three-level dispute resolution (Simplified Arbitration) with Condorcet voting, inspired by Wikimedia's ArbCom.
Commercial Truth & Reconciliation	Under study	Formal process to repair distrust and prevent forks caused by personal conflict.
Rings of Trust	Under study	Inter-User-Group agreements enabling Karma token interoperability.

Direct democracy and free licensing global governance

This family combines the Swiss political model (popular initiatives, referendums, collegial decisions at every level) with the culture of free licences: the citizen as legislator, rather than the elected representative. Decision methods are diversified according to what is at stake; for the more complex decisions, Condorcet voting can be used.

Innovation	Integration status	Summary
Open Calls	Pilot Experience Mode	(Concept adapted by Ynternet.org Foundation, see credits) Open invitations for community proposals; they make the governance porous and flexible. Waves, awards and status: see the Open Calls portal.
Participatory Observatories	Under study	Unlimited citizen-run observatories, created by theme by user groups, with Slashdot-style karma moderation.

Technology

Innovation	Integration status	Summary
Systematic Libre Licensing	Documented and adopted	AGPL v3 for software, CC BY-SA 4.0 for content, everywhere, by default: exactly the Free Software Foundation licences, libre in the pure sense.
Structured Data (Linked Data)	Under study	RDF, JSON-LD, and Wikidata integration for semantic interoperability.
Wikimedia Marker (WM-XX)	First hypothesis formalized	Nomenclature marking elements inspired by Wikimedia Foundation practices, being reframed around contract variables.
AI Disclaimer	First hypothesis formalized	Mandatory transparency marker on every AI-assisted page, requiring disclosure and human validation.
AI Supported Deployment	First hypothesis formalized	Five AI-era work profiles combined with Open Calls to move from idea to prototype to deployment.

Specific marketplaces

The second block gathers the innovations that concern specific marketplaces. It is expected to become very large over time, as many contributors bring many innovations; entries state, where relevant, which marketplace they concern.

Innovation	Integration status	Summary
User Groups	First hypothesis formalized	The coopetitive core of the Market: autonomous communities organizing freely, with their own governance and commissions. Concerns every marketplace.
Use Case Maturity Score	Under study	Incubation and development indicator, showing how far a use case has developed. Concerns every marketplace portal.
Revenue Spreading	Under study	Payout choice for dialoguers, revenue better distributed, serving the interests of NGOs. Concerns the street fundraising marketplace (fundraising through dialogue).
Reverse Abuse	Under study	Reusing multinationals' legal financial structures to repatriate value to small producers and user-governed supply chains.

Reference language: English. Each innovation has its own page under R&D.

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See also: R&D Portal · Open Call portal