Sharing and re-use of ICT solutions are the two main benefits of the 'user group' for Dutch municipalities implementing Typo3 - an open source content management system. The association, Typo3gem, was founded five years ago and now counts as members 47 of the country's 408 municipalities. A booklet is about to be sent to all other municipalities, inviting them to join.
By working together on their ICT solutions, the member municipalities are getting experienced in adapting to an ever-changing society, writes Ineke Schop in her introduction. Schop, until 2011 was the manager of the now defunct government resource centre for open source and open standards. The book's twelve testimonies show how municipalities are meeting their business objectives and at the same time increase their potential by collaborating on ICT solutions, she writes.
Successful and fun
Public administrations that truly want to share their ICT solutions will opt for open source software, adds Bart Lindeboom, head of IT of the Dutch municipality of Ede and chairperson of Typo3gem. "Working together is successful and fun". According to Lindeboom, the number of groups of municipalities that are working together on open source solutions is growing. "This summer, we've widened the scope of the association, to enable inclusion of new initiatives. Working together on Typo3 is our primary aim, but the results may also include other open source products."
Municipalities confirming the benefits of working together on the Typo3 content management system include the city of Houten, that began building the association. "Working together is a positive and responsible way to use public resources", the town explains.
Solutions
Municipalities much-appreciate the sharing of knowledge and new ideas, the testimonies show. Experienced colleagues in municipalities help each other select the best modules and readily share information. And: "Working together to add new functionalities allows us to share costs, which keeps them low." Examples of solutions built by the collaborating municipalities include a module to replace paper-based forms and a module to allow electronic payments.