RFP - Request for Projects - Call for critical/need-of-the-hour libre projects

Discussion
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The FOSS ecosystem has several free and open source solutions (be it software or hardware) addressing several needs of individuals, organizations and society.

However, the prevalence of underfunding, support and maintenance for FOSS projects and people involved in it hinders development and sustainence of viable FOSS solutions for critical/need-of-the-hour requirements. This combined with lack of comprehensive public directory for critical sectors and projects make it challenging to identify, develop and support the corresponding FOSS projects.

There have been initiatives addressing the above stated issue.

Inspired by YCombinator’s Request for Startups, this thread aims to serve as an encouragement for you to list out the domains that are lacking in viable FOSS solutions. Some inspiration for domains are as follows:

  • Finance
  • Travel
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Education
  • Open hardware, firmware and drivers
  • Communication
  • Intelligent Agents and Assistants
  • Mobile computing

Structure

For new and/or existing projects

  • Project name: Name of the project or idea
  • Domain: Sector which is addressed (could be any one of the above mentioned or other domains which are unlisted)
  • Description: Explanation regarding the problem being solved
  • Reference: Links to project, relevant research and problems being addressed.

For domains

  • Domain name: Sector which is addressed (domains not mentioned in the above list), e.g., security, internationalization, etc.
  • Description: Reason for specifying the domain and importance of having viable FOSS solutions addressing it
  • Reference: Links to relevant research and problems faced
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Bumping this thread because it needs more attention than it is getting.

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This was discussed at Maintainer Summit. We will plug this into our grants program this quarter along with other updates.

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Project name: RTIFlow

Domain: Governance / Civic Tech / Public Policy

Description:
Requesting a FOSS solution that helps users track the status of RTIs they have already filed, especially physical ones. This is not a filing platform, but a personal or community-based RTI tracking tool.

Current challenges:

  • Once RTIs are filed (physically or online), there is no structured way to:
    • Know if it was received by the Public Information Officer (PIO)
    • Track whether a reply has been sent
    • Monitor deadlines for First or Second Appeals
    • Maintain a log of past RTIs across departments or topics
  • RTIs are often forgotten or lost, especially in multi-user or institutional filing efforts
  • Most users rely on memory or scattered paperwork, leading to missed follow-ups

Desired solution:

  • A simple, self-hostable or web-based FOSS platform that allows:
    • Manual entry of RTI details (date filed, department, subject, PIO details)
    • Status updates for each RTI (Filed / Reply Received / First Appeal / Second Appeal / Closed)
    • Auto-reminders after 30/45/90 days as per RTI Act timelines
    • Uploads of scanned copies of RTI replies or notices
    • Tagging by department, state, sector, or keyword
    • Ability to view RTI history in one place (dashboard view)
    • Optional: analytics layer (number of pending RTIs, delays, department-wise trends)

Benefit:

  • More RTIs can be followed up, leading to higher response rates from public authorities
  • Data from RTI replies becomes accessible and reusable, improving civic awareness
  • Journalists, students, researchers, activists, and citizens can collaborate and cross-reference replies
  • Builds institutional memory for civil society groups filing hundreds of RTIs
  • Empowers citizens to use the RTI Act effectively with minimal effort

Reference: YouRTI.in - it is an RTI filing service but this has a tracking feature.

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