Online platform for reporting pollution to the State Environmental Inspectorate
Overview
SmartUp set up a system for receiving and managing pollution reports for the State Environmental Inspectorate in North Macedonia, built on the Freshdesk tool. Citizens can report polluters through several channels, and every report lands in one place where inspectors can track it and respond quickly. The platform eases the response of state inspectors and supports coordination of inspection oversight at both state and local level, especially for field inspectors.
The work was part of ClearUp (“Razbistri se”), an initiative led by the Institute for Communication Studies to strengthen collaboration between the Inspectorate and citizens. The project was funded by the British Embassy in Skopje.
The challenge
No easy way to report
Citizens could not report a case to Inspectorate staff electronically through social networks, email, or a web form.
Slow, untracked reports
Without these channels, getting a report quickly was harder, and reports that did not pass through the archive were not recorded.
Activities and methods
We built a communication system on Freshdesk that receives, records, and tracks reports. Citizens can report through:
- Facebook – a message to the Inspectorate's page
- Email – a dedicated address, prijavi@sei.gov.mk
- The Inspectorate's website – a dedicated page and a widget in the corner of the site
- The Map of Polluters – a report field on mapanazagaduvaci.mk
All channels feed into a single workspace, where a designated inspector assesses each report, forwards it to the right department, and replies directly to the citizen. Reports reach all heads of the Inspectorate electronically.
Impact and learning
The new system gives the Inspectorate:
- One place for all reports – from every channel, instead of scattered messages
- Faster response – quick follow-up and reaction to each report
- Monitoring – recording and tracking of the Inspectorate's work on reports
- Direct replies – citizens who report receive a response straight from an inspector
Outputs
Planning similar work?
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