Apart from a greater independence from IT service providers, PloneGov expected benefits are: to enhance the applications’ consistency with the users’ needs; to promote collaborative websites (managed by communal services, associations and businesses); to promote both the independence and the proficiency of the Communes’ internal IT staff; to use the most recent technologies while avoiding licence fees; to ensure publication of sources with General Public License (GPL).

PloneGov, the strong points

• Plone: all the applications developed within the framework of the project are based on a common technology, Plone. This tool, 100% open source, is available in 40 languages, and is internationally recognised for its stability and ease of use. Plone is a content management system which allows people with no or limited technical knowledge to provide with content a tool interfaced in web mode, enabling them, for instance, to update the content of a website. Zope, the application server, includes basic modules such as access management and security, as well as a workflow system, a web server, a database, etc.
• Collaboration: With the support of SME’s, administrations develop applications that they make available to their peers, others help to identify problems and find solutions to them, and others still participate in editing and documenting, and in testing.  Everyone contributes according to the means that they have available. All assistance is welcome, and everybody benefits. With PloneGov the development of software that corresponds to a specific need is never undertaken repeatedly, thus eliminating unnecessary expense. The public administrations become more efficient, while also reducing costs.
• Accessibility: PloneGov respects standards in terms of accessibility (WAI) with the objective of aiding navigation on the Internet by persons with visual and motor deficiencies.
• Effectiveness: By developing management applications specifically adapted to the needs of public authorities, PloneGov enables their effectiveness to be considerably improved, their repetitive tasks to be automated, and public funds to be saved.
• Economy of knowledge: By offering the many companies and associations located within the territories of the associations taking part the possibility of having their own mini website, the public authorities are directly combating the gap between those who do and don’t have access to the internet, encouraging promotion and activity within local economic and association life and participating in the training of the population.
• Making the most of skills: PloneGov enables full benefit to be made of the skills and human resources which public authorities and local businesses have at their disposal. It breaks down technological dependency and gives everyone their own autonomy.

PloneGov, the applications

Around 15 applications are already in production. Here are some examples. Others are still under development.
Out of the box Municipal internet site: an easily reproducible internet site which is suited to the needs of cities (agenda, newsletter, RSS feed, geo-location, a mini website for companies and associations, etc.)

• Meetings management for a decision-making entity: additions to and management of the running order, list of those present, drawing up minutes, follow-up of decisions taken, generation of documents in pdf format, etc.
• On-line services: an ordering module for official documents, inter-connectable to an on-line payment system and, in Belgium, with another eID secured connection.
• …

PloneGov, stakeholders

More than 50 public European, African, North and South American organisations take part in PloneGov. Over 10 SME’s, brought together by Zea Partners, a non-profit organisation, add their support and their experience to these organisations.

Organisations from almost 20 countries across 3 continents are already involved to differing degrees or are in the process of becoming involved.

How to join the PloneGov community?

All the applications developed by PloneGov are made available free of charge on the website www.plonegov.org. Those public authorities wishing to take part in the project are invited to contact its coordinators. They can deploy by themselves the PloneGov applications or contact a SME partner for services, coaching or training, or even if they need specific development.

PloneGov members projects

CommunesPlone - Belgium, France

Over 50 Belgian and French local governments (communes and mairies) participate in the CommunesPlone project. In doing so, they aim to gain independence from IT services providers by developing, essentially by themselves and in a cooperative manner, applications and websites for their own use as well as for their citizens’.

Today, different modules are available : Intranet/Extranet, council management, online administrative documents requests, identification by electronic identity card, fine management or deliberation management.

• Contact person : Joël LAMBILLOTTE, Olivier SNICKERS, Xavier HEYMANS
• CommunesPlone applications list (French)

PloneGov - Switzerland

The PloneGov.ch foundation has been founded in April 2007. Members of the PloneGov.ch foundation are the Swiss Government, the Canton of Basel Stadt and two consulting companies. The goal of the foundation is to provide an eGovernment infrastructure based on Plone.

Today, modules for Web CMS, Intranet/Extranet, Records Management, and public forums are available. On May 30th, the first PloneGov.ch workshop will be held in Berne.

• Contact person : Bernhard BÜHLMANN
• PloneGov applications list (German)

Udalerria web plataforma - Spain and France

Udalerria web plataforma is an initiative started in the Basque Country. It aims at providing a suite of applications to local governments.

Some ZOPE Communal Site powered by CodeSyntax, Basque-Spanish, include one Basque-French site: Saint Pierre d'Irube (near Bayonne).

• Contact person : Eneko ASTIGARRAGA
• Codesyntax website

Bungeni - Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda

Bungeni is a Parliamentary and Legislative Information System for drafting, managing, consolidating and publishing legislative and other parliamentary documents. It is meant to contribute to making Parliaments more open and accessible to citizens ... virtually allowing them "inside Parliament" or Bungeni the Kiswahili word for "inside Parliament".

Bungeni is based on open standards (see www.akomantoso.org) and open source applications (Plone, Zope, OpenOffice.org and eXist) . It is an initiative supported by UNDESA's project "Africa i-Parliament Action Plan" (see www.parliaments.info) in collaboration with the Pan African parliament and European parliaments and universities. Bungeni is a collaborative software development initiative and it will be piloted 8 Parliaments in Africa: Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The National Assembly of Nigeria has also been supporting the project's activities.

• Contact person : Flavio ZENI
• Bungeni website
  

OpenGov - United States of America

The City of Newport News, Virginia, is offering the software that runs its web site as well as the knowledge base we created through the implementation process to any organization or individual, free of charge. City of Newport News and its so-called OpenGov project intent is to create a collaborative software ecosystem, where government organizations, non-profits and the private sector work together to share the cost of enhanced capabilities.
More information about the Plone products available, documentation, training material is available on the Open-Gov project site.

• Contact person : Andy Stein
• OpenGov website
  

Tabellio - Belgium

Tabellio is a parliamentary toolbox, consisting of an information system for drafting, managing and publishing legislative documents and other parliamentary data; and of other generic tools for public administration.

An important goal of the project is to collaborate with similar projects to cover the functionalities, reusing, adapting, developing or co-developing generic components, to be distributed in GPL (or similar copyleft license).

• Contact person : Gaëtan Deberdt, Joël Tournemenne
• Tabellio website
  

Health Atlas - Ireland

A project from the Health Service Executive (HSE), Health Atlas Ireland has been developed to bring health related datasets, statistical tools and GIS together in a web environment to add value to existing health data. Health Atlas Ireland enables controlled access to maps, data and analyses for service planning and delivery, major incident response, epidemiology and research to improve the health of patients, their families and the population.

It is a joint HSE and academic initiative. In the absence of an off-the-shelf solution, a new system was designed and developed. Health Atlas Ireland enables “joined up thinking” within and between agencies. The open source design has international potential.

• Contact persons: Howard Johnson and Mel McIntyre
• Health Intelligence website

Other Plone eGov based initiatives

Interlegis (Brazil)

The Interlegis portal goal is to reduce distance between the Brazil legislative state chambers, which form a virtual community. Interlegis provides Plone based solutions to support the legislative processes: a model portal for the Legislative assembly and SAAP an integrated system that optimizes the parliamentary activities.