CommunesPlone.org success results from a close collaboration between Belgian and French local governments, the Plone Open Source Community and Zea Partners, an international network of SME.
The towns of Seneffe and Sambreville (Belgium) jointly started the project. In 2 years, it spread to 15 Belgian and French local governments and counted in 2010 more then 100 municipalities in Belgium !! This fast growing project spreads to new countries within Europe (Italy, France, ...) and outside Europe (Argentina, USA, ...). The roots of its success may be found in early decisions:
- to model processes on proven practices of a Community, successful Open Source
- to involve OS experts to coach the IT team of Sambreville,
- to be open to collaboration from other towns and experts,
- to maintain a close relationship with the local user group and SME.
The project is a clear example of FLOSS enabling innovation within public organisation and its benefits to the local economy. The project close relationship with the Plone OS Community and SME brings additional benefits as sharing best practices on
collaborative work and speeding up international dissemination.