The Digital Cities project (DC) shall contribute to the exchange, sharing and transfer of policy experience, knowledge and good practices on a European level. A key tool for the project to achieve its goals is the DC Portal: A one-stop shop for stakeholders and individuals wishing to learn more about the current trends in ICT for local authorities, communities and citizens from across Europe.
The portal is a knolwedge base where the information generated through DC is gathered, processed, expanded and used. It is structured around the DC framework and provides access to best practices either through RSS feeds or through its online database. Users can navigate through a Digital City plan from idea to implementation, together with a range of supporting resources and testimonials.
The portal is an evolving online tool and its services are expanding. The next steps include but will not be limited to:
- The incorporation of structured queries for specific websites, allowing the users to search for information in other websites containing best practices, while simultaneously these practices will be further categorised in relation to the DC portal ontology.
- Providing users the possibility to upload their own best practices through a moderated procedure.
- Video streaming support for webinars.
- Integration and maintenance of a calendar with related events and conferences.
- Implementation of the DC planner toolkit, which will be available for registered users. The DC planner toolkit is a tool that will allow users of the portal to produce their own DC planning through an interactive database, which analyses regional indicators and strategic priorities.
- Implementation of user access rights, to allow for content distinction (publicly available and private).
- Development of a guide and/or chart with all cities and best practices , including statistics, a bonus point system depending on activities and reviews etc.
Currently more functionalities are under consideration for the second phase of development. For example a personal user/city’s area, where information about the digital development of the city will be presented, relevant documentation, best practices and relative press releases may be uploaded as well as demographic data, google maps etc. Another option could be the implementation of the so called “social” functionalities, such as setting up competitions with prizes with the collection of points, gathered by the activity levels of users.
