Goteo.org

Collective benefits

• Source code: Alaveteli source code

  Alaveteli is the software extracted from WhatDoTheyKnow.com, developed by mySociety. For the last few months it's been extended to allow the use of different languages, and to make it more flexible, so it can work in jurisdictions other than the UK. The final goal is that an NGO or citizen in any country can launch a similar site in just a couple of weeks.

  License

  General Public License

  GNU General Public License for the free distribution, modification, and use of software

• Manuals: Right to Know guide

  The site will include a report about the citizens' access to information rights, as well as a 'requesters guide' that will explain in detail the process to follow. Although the guide will be focused in using the site as the channel, citizens could also send their requests directly to public bodies.

  License

  CC - Attribution - ShareAlike

  Creative Commons License with attribution that only allows sharing under identical licensing conditions

• Digital files: Public information: responses

  Both the information requests and the responses are published openly on the site, with a Creative Commons license. Hence, a public repository is built over time containing all the responses from the administration.

• Services: Simplifying request process

  Although a citizen can ask a public body directly, there are some hurdles in practice: lack of knowledge about what to ask, or how to do it, since previous requests are not available; picking the right public body and finding the contact details; remembering to follow up the request in case of delay; and doing all this in private is hard and demoralising. The web is specifically designed to address all these issues.

• Activismo para el reconocimiento de un derecho: Lobbying to pass an access to information law

  An access to information law has been promised by the government party in Spain since 2004. Due to lack of knowledge in society, and hence lack of social pressure, its approval has been delayed a number of times. Spain's General Elections are now scheduled for November 20th, and both main parties have promised again that they'll pass the law. We must ensure they don't backtrack, and we believe the best way to do that is to show the poor current situation regarding transparency, and to show with real examples the use of access to information requests.