Apr 2010 30

Engaging with technology1

Streetlight In the Dutch city of Eindhoven, citizens can now report broken street lights, potholes, graffiti etc. using an app on their iphones. Users can take a picture and locate the problem on GPS and maps and send it directly to the local authority so they can easily locate and solve the problem. Obviously not everyone has an iphone, but it's a great innovation that involves citizens in looking after their community.

The first comment that follows in the above link beat me to it, but it's worth repeating: A similar system exists in the UK, run by the excellent My Society, who also run What Do They Know and They Work For You. It's a website called Fix my Street, and allows users to enter their postcode, locate where a problem is on a map and then give details of what the problem is. They then send this on to the council on your behalf, which means that you don't have to sit on the phone on hold trying to get through to the right department at the council. It saves time and cuts down on bureaucracy. It also exhibits how innovative ideas and technology can link society to government – national or local – at very little cost.

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  • Hardeep Singh

    Technology is amazing not just from a marketable perspective but from an application point of view. However we all know that our ‘dear’ political leaders fear it precisely because of it’s success at streamlining, cutting costs and making things accessible. If you can use technology through military hardware, save lives in medicine, make games and films sell far better than why not implement it to save public costs? The reason no doubt is that idealogy is the block to progress here.
    Just pick up the phone to IBM and tell what you are trying to do and see how they come up with a solution. Of course any money saved will simply be frittered away on a raft of non jobs and we’ll be back to square one again. The impending cost review will then chop the so called ‘unaffordable technology’ and keep the non jobs that really pushed up the budget.