[okfn-discuss] FYI: OCAX

Mon Feb 24 12:29:47 UTC 2014

Dear list,

An interesting initiative from Spain, the 'Citizens Municipality 
Observatory', aiming to 'create citizen observatories to get the 
[municipal] budgets under citizens’ control.'
http://ocax.net/doku.php?id=en:index
http://demo.ocax.net/

Clearest description I've found is from
http://int.acampadadebarcelona.org/2014/02/23/barcelona-15m-newsletter-nr-59/

OCAX: AN ONLINE TOOL TO KEEP THE BUDGETS UNDER PEOPLE’S CONTROL

A year ago, the PACD (Citizen Debt Audit Platform - NL#12, 1 )  launched 
its campain to fight debt and lack of transparency in the 
municipalities. The aim was to create citizen observatories to get the 
budgets under citizens’ control. An online tool has been developed in 
order to support this task. The tool, OCAX , is totally open source: 
any group can download the code and implement it on their website. The 
code can be changed, there is no need to quote, but it can’t be used for 
lucrative purpose. Likewise, no logo from any political party or 
association can be attached to it since it wants to remain as a tool for 
the citizens.

The web enables any citizen to ask questions to the City Hall about the 
budgets, and the people who make the observatory work are in charge of 
bureucracy involved. All the questions are open to the public on the 
website and  answers can be tracked and processed so it can be 
replicated in other observatories. Furthermore, it also includes a budget
analizer which breaksdown different incomes and outputs. Some more extra 
information is provided: who is awarded public works’ contract,  on 
which issues the money is spent, or any other answers to questions 
raised by citizens..

Is there crossover with the OKFNs various projects?

John

-- 
John Levin
http://www.anterotesis.com
http://twitter.com/anterotesis