When Barack Obama's campaign set out to build the best digital and data operations in the history of politics, they changed the game forever. Despite the heralded success of their effort, their work was incomplete. Data created by online interactions and social networks couldn't be distributed to the field level of the campaign. And the "plumbing" of their system couldn't be used by anyone else.
NationBuilder solved those problems. When we released NationBuilder Match in Feb 2013, the game changed again for political infrastructure builders at all levels. It became possible to have a completely integrated data and communications system: voter data, social media interactions, donation info, volunteer records, full CRM, and full website tools all in one place. Organizers at all levels could know everything about their supporters, turnout, and persuasion universes in one place.
Since then NationBuilder has expanded into 98 countries and become the dominant political party top-to-bottom organizing tool. Entire political parties in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia have adopted the platform. Test cases for state caucuses in US battlegrounds have shown simply having NationBuilder to result in a 5 point bounce for candidates. And local parties finally have a product they can afford and use easily.
We believe that online and data tools should bring political leaders closer to the electorate. The beauty of advanced technology lies, ironically, in technology's ability to build more and deeper in-person relationships for a political organizer. Here's our roadmap for building a political infrastructure that is rich in leadership and community bonds. That's how democracy works best.