Plataform Izzistrit - Observatory of Public Sector Innovation

Izzistrit is an urban data indexing platform created to improve the travelling experience of people with disabilities or reduced mobility in cities. The platform helps them make safer, more independent and autonomous decisions and, therefore, generate more equity in the use of urban public space.

The platform uses digital maps to display information ranging from customised accessible routes, taking into account the type of disability, the assistive resource used and the means of transportation. Even job vacancies and recommendations of accessible friendly commercial stores are available.

In addition, the data collected is analysed and classified according to accessibility criteria and made available via a dashboard for public managers.

Innovation Summary

Innovation Overview

Our main product is the Izzistrit platform. Izzistrit is an urban data indexing platform created to improve the travelling experience of people with disabilities or reduced mobility in cities, helping these citizens make decisions to offer more safety, independence and autonomy in their journeys and, therefore, generate more equity in the use of urban public space. We use digital maps to generate information ranging from the indication of customised accessible routes, taking into account the type of disability, the assistive resource used and the mode of travel, to the indication of job vacancies and recommendations of accessible friendly commercial establishments, taking into account their accessibility conditions. In addition, the data collected from urban facilities through on-site technical inspections is analysed, classified according to accessibility criteria and made available via a dashboard for public managers, or through deliverables such as reports, projects, spreadsheets and infographics, helping decision-making in the implementation of public policies.

To develop the intelligence for indicating customised accessible routes that take into account the type of disability (physical, visual, hearing or cognitive) and the assistive resource used (wheelchair, cane, crutch, walker, upper prosthesis, lower prosthesis, guide dog etc. ), the data collected on site was analysed through a technical inspection that will classify each piece of urban equipment inspected (bus stops, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, walkways, lifts and lifts) based on specific technical standards for each piece of equipment.

The methodology created in the Ponto Certo Project (2013-2018) and improved in the Spark Programme (2020-2022) has the following pillars:a data management system (Gindex), two data visualisation platforms (Izzistrit Dashboard and Izzistrit Rotas) and the protocol for the technical inspection of urban equipment which directs the entire process from the selection of field agents (carried out in each city,
(carried out in each city, also with the aim of generating income for the professional in their locality), training (in a hybrid form, most of which is remote based on the Inspection Manual and some demonstration videos), follow-up and monitoring of inspections (remotely, using performance graphs for each of those selected). The current version of the methodology has already been tested in Salvador and is ready to be replicated in any city in Brazil or the world.

Innovation Description

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

Our competitive advantage is basically twofold: 1) specialised data that provides reliability and assertiveness for public decision-makers, since we collect data in the field based on technical standards indicators; 2) use of AI tools for user interaction and inclusion (chatbot) and integration with other service platforms such as, for example, indication of accessible establishments; transport by app with "accessible friendly" cars and drivers; public transport app with information on adapted vehicles; buying tickets for venues with accessible cultural programmes; indicating job vacancies, among others, which are always being thought up with the aim of improving the experience of people with disabilities or reduced mobility with the urban space of their cities.

What is the current status of your innovation?

N/A

Innovation Development

Collaborations & Partnerships

As already mentioned, the main motivation for creating this solution was participation in the Accessibility and Mobility WG of CREA (Bahia Regional Engineering and Agronomy Council), a federal body that brings together other civil society organisations in its Working Groups (WGs). These organisations include representatives of associations that deal with the issues of people with disabilities, whether visual, physical, cognitive or hearing, which were also fundamental to the validations.

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

The main beneficiaries are people with disabilities (wheelchair users, blind people, deaf people, autistic people, etc.) or reduced mobility (obese people, elderly people, pregnant women, etc.) and their different spectrums. The benefit for these people is to obtain information on the most accessible routes from point A to point B. In addition, public managers from different areas (town planning, transport, mobility, etc.) benefit from the data generated by the technical inspections carried out on site.

Innovation Reflections

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

The platform is currently operational in two cities, Salvador (our Centelha/FINEP pilot) and Foz do Iguaçu (POC in the Vila A Inteligente neighbourhood). The figures we have are for access to the platform, totalling 3,128 (taking into account that the platform was launched in September 2022). Another important figure is the number of followers on our social networks, which currently stands at 114, even though we don't have a dedicated digital marketing team

Challenges and Failures

The biggest challenges we encountered were initially the development of the platform, which required specific knowledge in the area of geotechnologies applied to software development. This issue was resolved with targeted training for the developers. Then we had difficulties accessing public managers so that we could validate the platform, but we still managed to hold some remote and face-to-face meetings, with important help from the accelerator programmes we take part in, such as BrazilLab, IdeiaGOv and BTG Soma, all of which focus on government and/or social impact.

Conditions for Success

N/A

Replication

In recent years, we have carried out several validations with city halls (Aracaju, Maceió, Salvador, Feira de Santana, Vitoria da Conquista, Praia Grande, Barueri, as well as Lisbon and Oeiras in Portugal). In 2022, we signed an agreement with the Itaipu Technology Park (PTI) to implement a POC in the Vila A smart neighbourhood in the city of Foz do Iguaçu via the Regulatory SandBox, a mechanism provided for in the Startups Law. The Government of Bahia has also signalled its interest in including our solution in the SAC Digital (Citizen Service) platform.

Lessons Learned

The lessons were numerous, even taking into account the three years and seven months it took to set up Inpatics. From how to open a company to receive a grant, with the addition that it was in 2020 in the middle of a pandemic, to the relationships between partners that must be very well defined right from the start of the journey in order to avoid problems in the future. Other lessons are in the legal field, such as hiring methods with 100% remote working (with the exception of inspections), and also in management, with the insertion of innovation processes so that the platform and other solutions can be improved and implemented.

Anything Else?

We created Inpatics based on a feeling of empathy. The experiences that the partners had with projects related to mobility and accessibility led to a change in the way we look at problems that are considered "invisible" to the majority of society. With this motivation, we went looking for people who could also be touched by this feeling and thus seek technological solutions to solve these problems. As well as being a company with a socio-environmental impact, we are people who are genuinely concerned about the well-being of the population and improving the quality of life of citizens, especially people with disabilities or reduced mobility, helping to make cities more humane, intelligent and sustainable.