Wiki

Governance

Governance is not an appendix. It is part of the product thesis. Uitwijken.nl is only meaningfully different from existing platforms if it is not owned by government, not owned by a company, and not commercially optimized.

Ownership Direction

The long-term owner should be a civic vehicle that can credibly represent society. Possible forms include:

Association
Foundation
Cooperative
Hybrid foundation plus association
Public-interest steward with local chapters

The exact structure can be decided later. The proof-of-concept only needs to show that ownership is a design requirement, not a nice-to-have.

Three-Role Build Model

The way Uitwijken.nl is built should mirror the way Uitwijken.nl works:

Role	Build contribution
Government	Funding, public data, legitimacy, policy questions, pilot context
Residents	Requirements, priorities, lived experience, moderation legitimacy
Entrepreneurs	Development capacity, services, spaces, practical support

This is important in the pitch. If Uitwijken.nl is meant to be from society, the build process cannot look like a normal vendor contract forever.

Formal Communities

Formal communities are connected to official plans, public budgets, recognized consultation, or local governance. They need:

Clear membership or participation criteria.
Moderation board rooted in the physical community.
Transparent decision rules.
Public record of questions, priorities, and outcomes.
Appeals or escalation when moderation affects participation.

Informal Communities

Informal communities are resident initiatives, interest groups, volunteer circles, and practical local networks. They can be lighter:

Participant-led norms.
Open joining where appropriate.
Clear theme and location scope.
Escalation only when informal activity touches formal decisions or safety.

Moderation Boards

Formal spaces should have moderation boards that actually meet, know the place, and can be held accountable. This is different from invisible platform moderation.

The moderation board is not just a safety function. It is how the physical community remains responsible for the digital layer.

Design Principles

Three choices were settled in conversation. They are not details for later — they set the nature of the platform and make moderation tractable. They also shape every one of the building blocks.

Strictly public

No private messages, no closed groups. What happens on Uitwijken.nl is public by nature. This is a values choice (civic life belongs in daylight) and a moderation strategy (you cannot quietly organize something that cannot bear scrutiny, and there is no private layer for abuse to hide in). The platform should be built so there is no space for misuse — and where it appears, the public nature makes it cheap to surface.

Verified, but pseudonymous

Signing in should prove that an account is a real resident — for example via DigiD — while letting the person choose the name they appear under. One real human behind each account, without forcing exposure of a full legal name where safety or comfort requires care. Verification and identity are two separate things; we want the first without demanding the second.

Voting follows residence

Proving you live somewhere is what grants a vote about that place. A street, buurt, or city question is decided by the verified residents of that scale, not by whoever happens to read along. This ties the democratic mechanism to lived presence rather than to accounts or reach.

Boundaries

Government should not get a special surveillance view of residents. Entrepreneurs should not turn the platform into advertising. Residents should not be forced into real-name exposure where safety requires care. These questions belong in the governance design from day one.