Civic designer · Democracy is practised and cared for
I am Domenico Di Siena, civic designer. I connect research, communities, technology and territory so that people, organisations and institutions can face complex problems together.
I advise institutions, build spaces, experiment and publish content.
They are not separate departments: many projects live in more than one field.
The frame and the tools: a method to activate situated collective intelligence in public and social projects.
The institutional work: methodologies and networks that take participation beyond participation-washing.
AI, free software and digital autonomy: supporting technology without delegating judgement.
Public Mesh · Diseño Cívico · unscroll.me · Inteligencia Libre · Cocina IA
Hybrid spaces, gastronomy and neighbourhood life as civic infrastructure for encounter.
Everyone asks for participation. Almost no one tends the conditions that make it possible.
Democracy as living infrastructure.
Lines that feed back into each other.
20+ years of practice · Projects in 20+ countries · 1,000+ people trained
Action
what I build
For years I’ve been activating hybrid spaces: physical places where the digital and the in-person meet, and where people who didn’t know each other start doing things together.
Now · Benimaclet, Valencia
A neighbourhood coworking space in Benimaclet that I direct and manage. More than shared desks, it is a node of encounter: an affordable space where projects, neighbours and community coexist.
Discover MultiprecioA lineage of hybrid spaces
Coworking and fab-lab.
One of the first FoodLabs in the world.
A space for civic innovation and collective practices.
A node of culture, community and urban experimentation.
Experimentation
what I explore
A physical workshop in Valencia where the gastronomic and the digital meet in practice. We cook, test and explore together what we want AI to do for us — and what we don’t.
If you want to help activate Cocina IA — as a cook, a technologist, a space, or simply with the will to make things — let’s talk.
Collaborate in ValenciaIf the idea inspires you and you want to bring a Cocina IA to your city, I share method, learnings and support to get it going.
Write to meI research how to build a public presence without handing it to platforms designed to capture attention, and work to make that alternative viable for institutions too.
Manifesto
“Let technology serve encounter, not capture.”
A manifesto and an invitation: to leave infinite scroll behind and rebuild a digital life with intention, presence and sovereignty over one’s own attention.
Read the manifestoContent
what I publish
Editorial platform · in English
My editorial platform in English, where I think of democracy not as an abstract system but as the spaces, technologies, protocols and cultures that sustain public life day by day.
Read the full archive at publicmesh.orgPodcast · in Spanish
My podcast on AI, free software and digital autonomy, without sensationalism or clickbait: civic explanation so that judgement isn’t delegated.
Listen to the archive at inteligencialibre.netNarrative podcast · in Spanish
How food has shaped history and power, from a Mediterranean vantage point. Cooking is not a domestic matter: it is always, also, a decision about who rules.
Listen at cocinaypoder.comPodcast and newsletter · in Spanish
My podcast and newsletter on strategy and management. Today’s problems read through patterns three thousand years old: millennial common sense for deciding well inside the corporate noise.
Listen and subscribe at caosycosmos.netComing soon · a new podcast
We live surrounded by stories about the end of the world. This is the opposite: a podcast that travels to possible societies — of yesterday, today, tomorrow — to recover the ability to imagine that the present could be otherwise.
Notify meFour editions, one per language: thinking in progress on democracy, civic design and technology with judgement. It reaches your inbox when there is something worth reading.
Double opt-in: you’ll get an email to confirm the subscription.
Consulting
how I advise
For over a decade I’ve been opening up, systematising and teaching a discipline of my own: how to activate collective intelligence for public and social innovation.
I instigated CivicWise, an international network focused on civic innovation that connects people, collectives and territories.
civicwise.orgI created the first online Civic Design course: 13 h of video, 14 lessons and 11 downloadable resources, with lifetime access. Over 150 students and a 4.7 / 5 average rating on Udemy.
udemy.comThe first prototype of an ecosystem that harnesses AI in the service of civic design: to think and facilitate, not to replace.
A visual toolbox and the Collective Intelligence Canvas, to bring the method to teams, institutions and communities.
civicdesign.ccThe book
The book that systematises the method, successfully funded through a crowdfunding campaign.
civicdesign.ccOnline purchase coming soon
I work to make democratic innovation more than a slogan: methodologies, infrastructures and processes that take participation beyond participation-washing.
As Community & Membership Lead, I help shape the organization’s strategy and cultivate international communities of practice, including methodologies such as Democratic Social Infrastructures (DSI).
demsoc.orgI advise and support digital democracy projects as a consultant and mentor: designing participatory processes, platforms, open governance and tools that connect citizens with institutions.
sensuscivica.comI support institutions, public authorities, organizations, foundations, companies and European consortia in their most demanding challenges around democratic innovation, civic design and territorial transformation. This is selective, rigorous and deeply tailored work.
I have worked, taught or lectured at UCL (London), Medialab-Prado (Madrid), the Government of Aragon, the Regione Puglia and universities in Chile, Colombia and Argentina.
An expert, focused read to understand a challenge in depth, open the right questions and chart the path. Clarity before action.
A relationship sustained over time: presence, judgement and direction throughout an entire process or programme. For those who need a stable ally.
Designing and leading participatory and collective processes: from the methodological frame to facilitation in the room. Collective intelligence.
Let’s work together.
Instead of a generic contact section: these are the situations where I can help. Write to me and we start with a conversation.
Each card: what it is, which fields it relates to and where to learn more.
Write here and your message goes straight into my inbox. I read everything personally and reply when I have something useful to say.
The next step
If you’re looking for expert, tailored support, we can explore an advisory for your institution, organization or project.