Validation process r14 short 2013 04-23
- 1. Citymart.com Validation Process Description This document is intended to provide a detailed description of Citymart.com’s Validation Process, used to independently validate the accuracy of Project References. If you are not sure if this is the most up-to-date version or if you would like to receive information on the business value Independent Validation adds to your business or procurement processes, please contact us. Date: 2013/03/14 Citymart.com Dr. Jakob H. Rasmussen jr@citymart.com T +45 30711761 Amager Fælledvej 56, 12 2300 Copenhagen S Denmark
- 2. Page 2 of 7 © CITYMART.COM Contents INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION ................................................................................................................................ 3 Why Citymart.com Created Validation.................................................................................................................. 3 Showcases.............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Track Records......................................................................................................................................................... 3 THE VALIDATION PROCESS......................................................................................................................................... 4 Validation: Citymart.com’s Role............................................................................................................................. 4 Validation: Basic Outline of Process....................................................................................................................... 4 Detailed Outline of Validation Process .................................................................................................................. 4 Main Components of a Project .......................................................................................................................... 4 Setting Up a Project and Getting it Validated.................................................................................................... 4 Information Contained in Project Certificate..................................................................................................... 5 The Process for Stakeholders............................................................................................................................. 5 Spot Checks........................................................................................................................................................ 6 CONFLICT OF INTEREST.............................................................................................................................................. 7 What constitutes a conflict of interest?................................................................................................................. 7 GLOSSARY OF TERMS................................................................................................................................................. 7
- 3. Page 3 of 7 © CITYMART.COM INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION WHY CITYMART.COM CREATED VALIDATION §.1. Citymart.com’s vision is a marketplace in which high impact solutions that improve lives spread rapidly across cities. Citymart.com designed our Project Validation service because of the difficultly cities have when evaluating the competence of solution providers from around the world. Validation allows solution providers to validate their references and as such, prove their accuracy. When companies are able to accurately convey their track records and cities are able to confide in them, it moves us one step closer to a system characterised by trust, fair competition, and well-spent public funds. This creates better results for cities, companies and citizens. SHOWCASES §.2. A Citymart.com “Showcase” is an online profile intended to feature a specific solution (product or service). A Showcase can be created for free and at any time by any entity. TRACK RECORDS §.3. The Track Record section of a Showcase is created over time, as a company/NGO/university /innovator or entrepreneur (represented throughout this document by “company”) gains independent evaluations and validations of their solution. §.4. Today, a Track Record may include the following three components: Scores: These scores (which cannot be manipulated) are awarded after Calls for Solutions to all Showcases that have been evaluated. They are provided at no extra cost for optional use in the Showcase. Badges: Badges are awarded after Calls for Solutions for all nominated and winning Showcases. Badges are provided at no extra cost, also for optional use in the Showcase. Validated Projects: Citymart.com calls the implementation of a solution a Project. Projects (or “references”) appear in the Track Record once Project information has been validated by Project Stakeholders.
- 4. Page 4 of 7 © CITYMART.COM THE VALIDATION PROCESS VALIDATION: CITYMART.COM’S ROLE §.5. Citymart.com provides an online tool through which a company can validate a Project by inviting Stakeholders to validate information about that Project. §.6. Citymart.com does not validate the Project for its accuracy - rather, it facilitates a process through which validation is carried out by Independent Stakeholders upon invitation by the Showcase Company. Hence, the responsibility of getting a Project validated lies in full with the Showcase Company. §.7. Furthermore, liability for any misrepresentation of Project information lies fully with the Showcase Company, which has full editorial control over the Projects Facts. Citymart.com does not have any liability for intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of independence or untruthful validation of Projects Facts by Stakeholders carrying out validation. VALIDATION: BASIC OUTLINE OF PROCESS §.8. A company purchases a Project Validation Plan (valid for the activation of one Project). §.9. A company writes basic information about their Project in the form of four Project Facts. §.10. A company sends invitations to its Stakeholders through Citymart.com. §.11. Stakeholders confirm their involvement with the Project, declare whether or not they have a conflict of interest, and validate each of the four Project Facts. §.12. Once three Independent Stakeholders have validated the Project Facts, the Project is considered to be validated. DETAILED OUTLINE OF VALIDATION PROCESS §.13. A Project should be created for each location in which a Showcase’s solution has been implemented or is in the process of implementation. Main Components of a Project §.14. Each Project consists of five main components – four Projects Facts and the Stakeholders. Project Fact #1: Title of Project Project Fact #2: Location of Project Project Fact #3: Description of Project Project Fact #4: Project Stage(s) - Up to 10 stages can be selected from a drop-down menu. Stakeholders Setting Up a Project and Getting it Validated §.15. A Project Validation Plan gives the company the ability to use Citymart.com’s online Validation tool for a given timeframe (this timeframe is determined during purchase). §.16. None of the Project Facts are made visible until they have been validated by at least three Independent Stakeholders. Projects Facts that have been modified also need to be validated before being made visible. §.17. Citymart.com allows a company to invite any individual who has participated in developing, implementing, operating or using a Showcase’s solution to become a Stakeholder. Each company can invite as many Stakeholders as they would like to each Project. In order to do so, they need to enter the following information for each Stakeholder:
- 5. Page 5 of 7 © CITYMART.COM Full Name Email Address (any email address is accepted) Job Title (at the time when Project took place) Organisation (at the time when Project took place) Role (at the time when Project took place) The role is selected from the following list: Entrepreneur, City Councilor, City Official, Investor, Operator, User, Researcher, Consultant §.18. After being invited to a Project, each Stakeholder must confirm their involvement (past or current) in the Project and declare whether or not they have a conflict of interest with the Showcase Company. In this way, two groups of Stakeholders are created: Independent Stakeholders – Stakeholders who have declared they have no conflict of interest. These Stakeholders have permission to validate Project Facts. These Stakeholders are displayed on the Project Certificate as Independent Stakeholders. Other Stakeholders – All remaining Stakeholders who have been involved in the Project. These Stakeholders do not have permission to validate Project Facts. These Stakeholders are displayed in a separate list on the Project Certificate as Other Stakeholders. §.19. A Project is considered ‘validated’ when a minimum of three Independent Stakeholders have validated the Project Facts. At this point, two things happen: The Project is published in the ‘Track Record’ section of the Showcase. Double-clicking on any Project will open the Project Viewer, which contains the Project information that can be shared publicly. An online Project Certificate is created, with a unique ID and PIN number. These numbers can be used by the Showcase Company to provide access to the Project Certificate to third parties. §.20. Once the Project is validated, the Showcase Company can continue to add new Projects Facts. §.21. Any new Project Fact that is validated will be immediately published in the Project Viewer and Project Certificate. In other words, both the Project Viewer and the Project Certificate contain an up-to-date list of all validated Projects Facts. Information Contained in Project Certificate §.22. The Project Certificate contains confidential information and is only available to those with the Certificate ID and PIN. It is available in an online format and cannot be downloaded. §.23. The Project Certificate always contains the following information: Company Name Showcase Name Certificate ID Project Fact #1: Title Project Fact #2: Location Project Fact #3: Description Project Fact #4: Stage(s) List of Independent Validating Stakeholders List of Other Stakeholders Project Assets - images, PDFs, PPTs (optional) For each Stakeholder, the following information is also available on the Project Certificate: Full Name, Organisation, Role, Job Title (if available), Contribution to Project (if available) The Process for Stakeholders §.24. All Stakeholders who are invited by a company to join a Project:
- 6. Page 6 of 7 © CITYMART.COM Receive an email asking them to confirm their involvement with the Project. Approve that their Name, Organisation, Role, and Job Title (optional field) was entered correctly by the Project Owner. Declare whether or not they have a conflict of interest. Configure how they want their personal information to be displayed in the public version of the Project Certificate. Can include an optional description about the role they played in the Project. Can send feedback to the Showcase team to discuss or request corrections of any Project Facts. Can participate in an online conversation between all Stakeholders. §.25. ONLY Independent Stakeholders: Can validate (this is done by clicking a green VALIDATE button next to each Project Fact) the Project Facts that he/she knows to be true. Spot Checks §.26. Citymart.com randomly carries out spot-checks through a third-party organisation on 1 in 20 Independent Stakeholders to detect possible manipulation or misinterpretation by companies or Stakeholders. §.27. Spot-checks are carried out in one of the following two ways (randomly applied) and without prior notification to the Showcase Company: §.28. Method One: Confirming a Stakeholder’s Connection to a Project An email is sent to the Stakeholder to ask for a contact phone number. By phone, a verbal confirmation of the role and contribution is requested. §.29. Method Two: Confirming a Stakeholder’s Identity and Role An independent search without prior notification is conducted to: match the email domain to the stated organisation; and if no match is found… search for publicly available evidence of the role held by the Stakeholder in the stated organisation during period validated; and if no match is found… we contact the organization to which the Stakeholder claims to have belonged for the period validated and enquire about the affiliation; and if no match is found… contact the Stakeholder and ask for evidence. §.30. In the event that spot-checks raise problems, Citymart.com may take any of the following actions, depending on the degree of intent. §.31. Should a single Stakeholder have misunderstood or misinterpreted the conflict of interest clause, Citymart.com will re-classify the Stakeholder and remove all validations. The company will be notified. §.32. Should a Stakeholder have committed identity fraud and claimed affiliation with an organization that is false, the profile will be removed from Citymart.com and the email address will be blacklisted from future User or Stakeholder registrations. The Showcase Company will be notified and validations carried out by the Stakeholder will be removed. §.33. Should spot-checks raise problems, Citymart.com may carry out investigations into all other Independent Stakeholders in the Project to identify evidence of systematic manipulation. If evidence is found that a company manipulated the validation process by inviting several Stakeholders that committed identity fraud or grossly misinterpreted the conflict of interest definition, Citymart.com will impose a series of sanctions. It may, without prior notice, lock the Account, Showcase and Projects and blacklist all affiliated users until the company can provide full and open explanation of the circumstances.
- 7. Page 7 of 7 © CITYMART.COM CONFLICT OF INTEREST WHAT CONSTITUTES A CONFLICT OF INTEREST? §.34. Citymart.com defines a “conflict of interest” as a set of circumstances that creates a risk that objective professional judgment (as a Stakeholder ) could be influenced by any other competing personal or financial interests. Citymart.com considers that a conflict of interest exists even when this interest would not necessarily influence the Stakeholder in their judgment, but could result in the Stakeholder’s objectivity being questioned by others. §.35. By default, employees of the Showcase Company will always be considered to have a conflict of interest, as will employees of partner organisations (such as joint venture partners, contractors, resellers or licensees) and/or competitors. §.36. A client is not considered to have a conflict of interest with the Showcase Company just by virtue of being a client. However, in some cases, a client may have a conflict of interest as a result of other personal or financial interests in the Showcase Company or its partners/competitors. §.37. There are many types of situations that can create a conflict of interest. If you are interested in learning more about Conflicts of Interest, we recommend the following readings: §.38. http://www.stanford.edu/group/coi/ §.39. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22937/ §.40. http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/conflict-of-interest GLOSSARY OF TERMS Call for Solutions A Citymart.com-led program that helps cities to find the solution providers that can best address their challenges. It is comprised of the following components: (1) a city formally expresses a desire to find solutions relevant to a particular need, (2) a set of companies submit relevant solutions through Showcases, (3) the city appoints a jury to evaluate the solutions, and (4) a winning Showcase is selected by the jury. Project Citymart.com calls the implementation of a solution (a reference) a Project. Showcase An online profile intended to feature a specific solution (product or service). Stakeholder Any individual who has participated in developing, implementing, operating or using a Showcase’s solution.