a LEDGER proposal submitted by OneSource, Consultoria Informática Lda. (OneSource)
Participatory Processes A step forward towards true democratic decision-making Co-participation processes, such as participatory budgeting (PB), are one of the most successful civic innovations of the last quarter-century. They represent a powerful tool for citizens to join in the essential tasks of governing, not only as voters but also as decision-makers. Co-participation processes: • increase the quality of decision-making processes. • fight lagging voter turnout. • and help democratic institutions to maintain trust and legitimacy. 3
The role of ICT in participatory processes Many ICT platforms are already available for supporting co-participation processes Usually these tools provide support for the proposals build-up phase, for engaging the target citizens, and for supporting the voting process. Several of these tools support multi-channel participation. 4
The problem Unbalance between organizing entities and involved citizens In general co-participation tools are based on platforms centrally managed by the entities organizing the process (e.g. municipalities of ministries organizing PB processes). While this was somehow understandable and necessary some time ago, due to technological limitations, it has several drawbacks: • Citizens often feel some lack of trust and transparency in the process • Handling of citizens personal data may lack proper privacy and security • Processes are often not openly auditable, and prone to interference from external entities (e.g. lobbying agencies with hidden agendas, foreign governments, activist groups trying to cheat the process). • Communities whishing to conduct their own co-participation processes need ICT resources often not easy to put together. • Old processes are often “lost” when organizing entities change platforms or simply abandon PB processes 5
The opportunity Create truly shared and distributed ICT tools for co-participation Combine the functionalities of current platforms with tools and technologies such as distributed ledgers, blockchain and external identification services such as eID to provide a solution which provides, at least, the same features of existing platforms, while adding: • Increased reliability, availability and data resilience during and after the process • a more auditable framework • GDPR compliance regarding personal data, adopting privacy-by-design principles • robustness against illegitimate interference, from process stakeholders (organizing entities, cheating citizens) or external players (e.g. lobby groups with hidden agendas, foreign governments). • a lower “entry - point” for communities interested in conducting participatory processes on their own but lacking proper infrastructure. 6
The CoParticipation++ platform CoParticipation++ will address trust, security and ownership issues To do so, it will establish decentralized data governance by adopting privacy-by- design models and by leveraging on EMPATIA, an opensource PB platform whose development we have recently led. CoParticipation++ will support secure distribution of citizens data (e.g. vote data, user data) through blockchain technology and shared ledger. The ledger will be implemented as a microservice for user authentication, to secure participation and vote data in PB processes, to manage the P2P network that allows the secure distribution of data in shared ledger. The ledger will securely store all the data related to PB processes (participation events, voting events, etc.), which is secured through blockchain. The decentralized data governance service in CoParticipation ++ ensures citizens’ ownership of PB processes - each citizen may volunteer to participate in the P2P network and in the shared ledger for data integrity verification. 7
The CoParticipation++ platform How will CoParticipation++ improve citizens control over data? CoParticipation++ extends EMPATIA to enable a distributed data governance service, where key aspects of the citizens participation are stored in a community distributed ledger. With CoParticipation++ institutions still manage their processes as usual, but communities will be able to: 1) assess process integrity, increasing trust and transparency 2) create complementary processes, encouraging communities to go beyond official processes 3) enable ownership of processes, resuming processes deemed defunct 8
How we plan to reach the market Use existing network of customer contacts and local partners Our team already has extensive experience in providing co-participation platforms and consulting services in four continents: • several European and African countries, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, USA, etc.). We have both direct contacts and an extensive network of local partners such as NGOs, SMEs and consultants specialized on Participatory processes. We intend to use and amplify these networks to reach customers and end- users with the CoParticipation++ platform. Moreover, we will promote CoParticipation++ in high-profile co-creation community events typically attended by potential customers. 9
How we plan to generate revenue Open source distribution, paid complementary services • CoParticipation++ will be an innovative solution in a competitive market. • CoParticipation++ will be provided as open source (FOSS license GNU Affero GPL) • Revenues will be generated by complementing services, such as hosting, customization, training, consulting, etc. • Revenues will be shared between local partners and OneSource, according to the service provisioning structure set for each process. • Based on our experience , we believe institutional customers will provide enough revenue to ensure a profitable and sustainable business model. • Less resourceful customers (poor countries, citizen communities) may still use the platform “as is”. 10
Contributions to the open software ecosystem Release code, architecture and know-how to the public • The platform will be available as open source. • All concepts, architecture, algorithms and code will be made available to be reused by others in the format of White Papers. • We will also disseminate these achievements through the publication of scientific papers in relevant conferences and events. 11
Contributions to sustainable development goals Participatory processes represent a successful civic innovation • nevertheless, many participatory processes have become politically- driven or abducted by other interests, reinforcing the anti-legitimacy, anti-transparency and anti-trust feelings of some citizens towards government institutions. • CoParticipation++ will bring back to citizens and communities the transparency and trust in the processes, as well as the ability to be autonomous in driving and owning participatory processes. 12
A multidisciplinary team… …with expertise in business development, co -participation, ICT and security Paulo Simões (Business developer) Nelson Dias (Researcher, practitioner and scientific expert) Luis Cordeiro (Project Manager and Researcher in the fields of PB & ICT) Filipa Neto (Designer and Communications Manager) André Gomes (Researcher in the fields of ICT and security) Regina Tenreiro (Software Developer Team Leader) Luís Monteiro (Software Developer) Jorge Vale (Software Developer) Check the CVs at https://coparticipation.onesource.pt/ 13
How we plan to use the money Grant money will be mostly for staff effort: • around 70% for research and software development • around 20% for product design and marketing • around 10% for developing the business concept After reaching MVP status. follow-up investments in productization and commercial work will be supported by OneSource’s own funds and/or joint ventures established with investors interested in developing this business area. 14
Thanks! Hope to meet you all in the LEDGER jury day. 15
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