Council members see in a mobile app which messages are new and urgent
About the project
For the Rotterdam city council we developed a mobile app that lets council members share internal messages with each other. At a glance, council members can see which messages are new and which are urgent. Push notifications ensure no one misses an important message, even when the app is running in the background.
As a Rotterdam-based company, it was a special assignment: building an app for the elected representatives of our own city. The app has been in use for years and was migrated from Xamarin to Flutter during our partnership.
The Drupal dashboard that the app connects to was developed by Atom.
Features
iOS & Android
Cross-platform app for all council members
Push alerts
Urgent messages directly on screen
Real-time
Always the most current municipal information
The challenge
Council members of the Municipality of Rotterdam struggled to keep up with current municipal information. Traditional communication channels like email were too slow and unstructured for the fast pace of municipal politics.
The approach
We developed a mobile app that sorts messages by urgency and sends a push notification as soon as something urgent comes in. The app connects to an existing Drupal backend managed by the municipality itself. The Next App handled only the mobile layer. Later, on our own initiative, we migrated the app from Xamarin to Flutter to keep it future-proof.
Result
The Next App built the I-Noties app from the start and still maintains and improves it. The partnership with Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the Netherlands, has run for years and included the migration from Xamarin to Flutter.
45
Council members using the app daily
Since 2017
Long-term partnership with the Municipality of Rotterdam
674,000+
Residents represented by the council members who use the app
Working with The Next App?
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Collaboration
I-Noties was built by two parties: Atom built the Drupal dashboard, The Next App built the mobile app that connects to it. Both agencies are based in Rotterdam.
On paper we're competitors, but here we complemented each other. Atom knows Drupal and the municipality inside out, we know Flutter and mobile platforms. Together we arrived at a better solution than either of us could have delivered alone.
That is why we would rather work together than compete, when it gives the client more.
Technology
FAQ
I-Noties is a mobile app built for the 45 council members of the Rotterdam city council. Through the app, council members share internal messages and receive push notifications for urgent communications. Available on iOS and Android.
Yes. For I-Noties we built only the mobile app, while the Drupal backend is managed by the municipality itself.
We integrate with existing third-party systems, whether that's Drupal, a REST API, an ERP or another platform. You don't need to replace your backend to get a great mobile app.
Yes. The Next App has experience building apps for government organisations and large institutions.
We work with you on security, usability and long-term maintenance. Get in touch for a no-obligation conversation.
Yes. The Next App is located on the Westblaak in central Rotterdam. We work for clients in the region and across the Netherlands.
The I-Noties app for the city council is one of our most local and long-lasting partnerships.
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