OpenGrid

A rebooted reporting system that allows communities to raise concerns directly, while enabling councils to see the severity, risk level, and growing public dissatisfaction around unresolved issues.

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🏙️ OpenGrid UK

🚀 Inspiration

Local communities often feel ignored when reporting issues to councils. Reports disappear into inboxes, delays pile up, frustration grows, and councils lack a clear view of how serious unresolved problems have become.

We built OpenGrid UK to reboot community reporting — making issues visible, measurable, and impossible to ignore.

💡 What it does

OpenGrid UK is a web platform that allows community members to report local issues while giving councils a real-time overview of:

  • The volume of unresolved issues
  • The risk level of delayed problems
  • The public frustration and sentiment around them

Community members can submit reports, while council users can review analytics, track delays, and prioritise action based on impact.

🛠️ How we built it

  • Backend: Node.js, Express.js
  • Database: SQLite3
  • Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
  • Architecture: RESTful API serving static frontend pages
  • Hosting: Local Node.js server (hackathon prototype)

🧠 Use of AI (if applicable)

AI is used to:

  • Analyse report trends and escalation risk
  • (Optional / Future) Detect sentiment and urgency in reports
  • Support decision-making rather than automate enforcement

The system is designed so AI assists councils, not replaces human judgement.

⚖️ Responsible design

  • No unnecessary personal data collected
  • Focus on issues, not individuals
  • Transparency into how issues escalate over time
  • Designed to minimise bias by highlighting trends instead of single reports

🧪 Challenges we ran into

  • Designing a system that is impactful without being politically sensitive
  • Balancing transparency with responsible data handling
  • Building meaningful analytics within a short hackathon timeframe

🏆 Accomplishments that we’re proud of

  • A fully working Node.js prototype
  • Clear community → council feedback loop
  • Analytics that show risk and frustration, not just raw numbers
  • A scalable foundation for real-world civic deployment

📚 What we learned

  • Civic tech must be clear, neutral, and accountable
  • Visibility and context matter more than raw data
  • Responsible design is just as important as functionality

🔮 What’s next for OpenGrid UK

  • Role-based authentication for councils and residents
  • AI-powered sentiment analysis
  • Map-based issue visualisation
  • Real-time notifications and SLAs
  • Deployment to cloud infrastructure
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