The project takes into account the process of issuance, exchange and the tax implications of the tokens.
During the Global Blockchain Challenge, an event held in the Spanish city of Malaga, the IECISA startup team (Informática El Corte Inglés) presented a proposal to encourage citizen participation in solving physical infrastructure problems. The system is based on a rewards mechanism with tokens issued on a blockchain.
The project, presented as part of the realization of the world congress of blockchain Convergence, contemplates the use of a mobile application through which citizens can report damage to public structures. In addition, through a website, those responsible for these structures will be able to access the information and plan repairs and maintenance on the damaged structures, according to what IECISA assures in a press release published this November 13.
The idea is that in addition to the issuance and exchange of tokens, the interactions and reports are recorded on a blockchain platform. In this case, the project would use the Alastria blockchain, a network built on Quorum, which is based on Ethereum.
María Salgado, representative of IECISA, said that the proposal “solves the challenge of improving infrastructure, promoting citizen engagement, saving costs to infrastructure providers and reducing risks.”
The reward process is deployed through smart contracts generated in the aforementioned Alastria T network. In this network, citizens would be registered and identified with the Alastria ID digital identity system.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The proposals that competed during the Global Blockchain Challenge should respond to one of the Sustainable Development Goals, established by the United Nations Organization (UN) for the year 2030.
In the case of the winning project, it is a response to the SDG9 objective, as highlighted by the IECISA note. This objective is to build «resilient infrastructure and the promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization».
The question that led to this proposal, the text indicates, was “how citizen participation can improve infrastructure and even save lives.” Hence the system promotes participation with tokens. However, the note does not delve into exchange processes. It is not clear if there will be prizes for which citizens could exchange their tokens or if the latter could be spent as money for the payment of products and services.
Reward citizen action with tokens
Projects such as the one presented by IECISA are already underway in other parts of the world. Even in Latin America, the Argentine municipality of Marcos Paz created a system of rewards to reward recycling actions or the payment of their tax responsibilities.
To do this, local authorities allied with the Koibanx startup and announced the creation of the Marcos Paz Asset (MMP), a cryptocurrency of its own on the RSK blockchain, a Bitcoin side chain.
In Europe, the Irish city of Belfast also expressed its intention to issue its own cryptocurrency (Belfast Coin). While more recently the South Korean capital, Seoul, did the same, with the intention of rewarding citizens with cryptocurrencies for the use of public services.
Also published on Medium.