Background FixMyStreet[1] was originally created by the UK NGO MySociety[2] as a means for citizens to report problems in their local environment such as potholes, vandalism or broken streetlights. The idea behind the service is simply that you should be able to alert the local government on such problems without having to first find out who to talk to and how to contact them. The system presents the user with a map where you mark the problem and provide a short description and, optionally, a photo. Then the system is responsible for knowing what governmental body is responsible for streets at this position and sends them an error report via email. The problem can later be marked as fixed by those fixing it or even some other user. There is also functionality in place for follow-up questions or other type of dialog, for each problem marked on the map. The web system for FixMyStreet is free and open source software which has led to it being forked and adopted for a long list of countries worldwide since the original UK version went live. This talk describes the process of making a Swedish such fork, FixaMinGata[3], from a legal, practical and political perspective, from the initial idea to the launch and first year of a live up and running system. It touches upon questions raised when introducing a national eGov service in a country with a very strong culture of municipal independence. What happens when someone makes their own eGov service out of the control of the local governments? What does it mean that such a system is FOSS? What legal aspects must be considered when building such a service collecting (and presenting) map data, personal data, and photographs? Speaker: Rikard Fröberg[4], Morus konsult AB, involved in the project through both Morus, who made the legal prestudy for the project. Rikard also worked for FFKP, a non-profit who implemented and translated the system to Swedish and Swedish conditions.
Keywords: FOSS, eGovernment, grassroots initiative, licenses, citizen empowerment, legal
References:
- [1] FixMyStreet http://www.fixmystreet.com/
- [2] MySociety https://www.mysociety.org/
- [3] FixaMinGata http://fixamingata.se/
- [4] Rikard Fröberg http://morus.se/om-oss/rikard-froberg/ | http://blogs.fsfe.org/fellowship-interviews/?p=446
