Bilingual Community Decision-Making Platform (Based on Decidim)

Project Title: Bilingual Community Decision-Making Platform (Based on Decidim)


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1. Overview

San Fernando’s 70–150 local businesses currently share a common tax fund for district improvements, but there is no structured, transparent system for deciding how to use it. Many merchants, especially within the Spanish-speaking community, feel excluded or unaware of where the money goes.

This project aims to build a bilingual, transparent decision-making platform (based on Decidim) where verified merchants can propose, discuss, vote, and track funded projects—turning a passive tax levy into an active community budget.


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2. Goals & Success Metrics

Objective Key Metrics

Transparency in spending Public dashboard showing all funded projects
Inclusive participation ≥ 60% of verified merchants join first vote
Trust restoration ≥ 75% report higher confidence in fund use
Pilot replicability Template ready for other LA County BIDs



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3. Core Users

Merchant (Voter): Registered business owner or tenant in San Fernando BID (English + Spanish)

Association Admin: Approves proposals, verifies merchants, publishes reports

City Partner / Auditor: Monitors compliance and reporting

Community Facilitator: Assists offline merchants with bilingual support



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4. Core Features

Merchant onboarding via business license or address verification

Role-based permissions (Admin, Merchant, Observer)

Bilingual interface (English/Spanish) with language toggle

Simple bilingual proposal submission form with attachments and cost estimates

Community discussion threads, upvotes, and meeting scheduling

Participatory voting (one-business-one-vote or weighted) with real-time budget allocation visuals

Public budget dashboard with funded and pending projects

Accountability tracking with milestones, receipts, and completion updates

Notifications via SMS and email for proposals and voting

Admin moderation tools and CSV/PDF report exports

Mobile-first, WCAG-compliant design

Secure architecture with HTTPS, OAuth 2.0, and GDPR/CCPA compliance



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5. Technical Stack

Framework: Decidim (Ruby on Rails 7 + PostgreSQL + React components)

Deployment: Docker Compose / AWS Lightsail / DigitalOcean

Background Jobs: delayed_job + Redis

Authentication: Devise + Omniauth / Doorkeeper (OAuth 2.0)

Storage: S3-compatible object storage

Analytics: Matomo / Google Analytics 4 (privacy mode)

Monitoring: UptimeRobot / AWS CloudWatch



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6. AI for Accessibility & Inclusivity (Phase 2)

Instant Translation: Integrate GPT-powered translation for real-time bilingual support (English ↔ Spanish).

Proposal Summarization: Use LLMs to generate concise summaries of long proposals.

AI Chat Assistant: Train a multilingual chatbot to answer FAQs (e.g., “How do I submit a proposal?” or “When’s the next vote?”).



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7. Requirements

Proven experience with Decidim or Ruby on Rails civic platforms

Strong understanding of bilingual UI development (English/Spanish)

Experience with Docker, AWS/DigitalOcean, and OAuth 2.0

Familiarity with WCAG accessibility and data security standards

Commitment to communication, documentation, and deadlines


> Do not apply if you lack the required technical skills or patience.
This project requires a motivated, experienced developer or team with a community-driven mindset.




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8. Budget & Timeline

Budget: Open to discussion (based on experience and deliverables)

Timeline: 8–10 weeks for MVP delivery



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To Apply

Please include:

1. A brief cover letter describing your relevant experience with Decidim or civic tech platforms


2. Links to portfolio or GitHub


3. Your proposed cost and estimated timeline for the MVP