Organisations: local actors, visible and self-managed¶

At a glance. Organisations are the local actors in your municipality — clubs, administration, institutions, initiatives, businesses. They appear in a public, searchable directory with their type, categories, contact details, opening hours and services, feed their content (events, announcements) through their own sources, and manage themselves. Whoever represents an organisation can claim and take it over; admins review new entries and submitted sources in the background. In short: less central upkeep, more local ownership.

Screenshot: the organisation directory with a type filter and the "claimable" badge — assets/screenshots/organisations-directory.png

What is an organisation — and how does it relate to places?¶

A place (community) is a group with a shared feed, in which people are members and take part. An organisation is an actor: the sports club, the municipal administration, the library, the citizens' initiative, the business. Organisations have their own profile in the directory and automatically deliver content through their sources, which then lands in the matching places.

This creates a double benefit: people find the local actors in one place, and the actors maintain their own information — without a central editorial team entering everything by hand.

Every organisation has one type (exactly one, e.g. club/association, public institution/authority, education, health, culture, religious community, initiative/NGO, business/enterprise) and any number of thematic categories. The type says "what kind of organisation" — the categories say "what it is thematically about".

The lifecycle of an organisation¶

Every organisation has a clear state. This makes it transparent what is currently possible:

Status	What it means for you
Draft	Suggested and awaiting approval by an admin. Not public yet.
Orphaned	Visible in the directory, but (still) without an owner — it carries the "claimable" badge and is waiting to be taken over.
Published	Live in the directory and actively looked after (there is at least one owner).
Archived	Temporarily suspended and read-only — reversible. Active memberships remain in place, approved sources are paused (not deleted).
Deleted	Permanently removed. Only reachable from the "Archived" state (two-step, so nothing disappears by accident).

One important principle: if a published organisation loses its last owner, it automatically becomes orphaned — and thereby claimable again. This way no organisation is left permanently "ownerless" in the directory.

Screenshot: an organisation profile with its status indicator — assets/screenshots/organisations-status.png

For everyone / members¶

Browse the directory¶

The organisation directory is public — you can search it without signing in and view every profile. There are several ways to find what you need:

Filter by type — e.g. only clubs, only authorities, only institutions.
Filter by category — through a searchable picker (the range of topics is deliberately kept open, hence a search rather than a fixed wall of chips).
Free-text search — by name or keyword.
Favourites — sign in, mark organisations with a star, and hide everything else with "Favourites only".
Open now — see at a glance which organisations are currently open (where opening hours are maintained).

"Looked-after" — what the badge means (and what it doesn't)¶

A profile that is actively maintained by its owner carries a "looked-after / last maintained" hint. It shows: someone is taking care here, the details are being kept up to date.

Important and honest: this is not a statement that a particular detail has been officially or factually verified. "Looked-after" means maintained, not verified. Please continue to check important information (e.g. emergency services, deadlines) against the original source.

Understanding a profile¶

An organisation profile is read-only for everyone and structured into four zones:

At a glance — type, categories, "open now", the favourite star, the most important actions (e.g. Call) and time-critical notices (such as an emergency-service or holiday note).
Description — the organisation in its own words.
Practical info — opening hours, services, fee notes and contact. Empty sections or those marked "not applicable" are hidden.
Latest — the organisation's most recent announcements and events (kept short; hides itself when there is nothing).

Report incorrect information¶

If something is out of date or wrong (a changed phone number, different opening hours), you can send it back to the organisation with "Report info" — without needing edit rights yourself. The report goes to the organisation's owners (and, where needed, to moderation). This keeps profiles current without everyone being allowed to change everything.

Claim an orphaned organisation¶

If you officially represent an organisation (for example as a board member or contact person), you can claim and take over an orphaned organisation. locali makes sure an authorised person really takes over:

You submit a claim request on the organisation's profile.
To confirm, you receive a verification code sent to the organisation's official contact.
With the correct code your claim is confirmed — you become the owner.

While a request is in progress, the same organisation cannot be claimed twice — this prevents competing takeovers.

Screenshot: the claim dialog with code entry — assets/screenshots/organisations-claim-verify.png

Suggest a new organisation¶

If an organisation is missing from the directory, you can suggest it. Your suggestion lands as a draft in a review queue that an admin approves or rejects. After approval the organisation is visible in the directory and can be claimed.

For owners & editors¶

As an owner or editor you maintain the organisation in its management (backstage) — reachable via the gear icon on the profile. The management area is structured into tabs:

Tab	For
Content	Description, contact, opening hours, services, fees — plus open "Report info" reports.
External sources	Submit feeds and track their review status.
Members	Manage roles, transfer ownership.
Settings	Lifecycle (archive, reactivate, delete).

Screenshot: the organisation management with tabs — assets/screenshots/organisations-workspace.png

Roles: owner and editor¶

Organisations have two roles. They are deliberately different in power:

Owner — full control: name and logo, categories and type, member and role management, ownership transfer and lifecycle (archive/delete). Everything an editor may do, plus the "identity" of the organisation.
Editor — maintains the content: description, contact, opening hours, services, fees. No owner actions.

Members are added deliberately — there is no open "join" as with places.

A complete, up-to-date profile¶

Four content blocks make a profile practically useful — and locali helps you keep them up to date:

Opening hours — as named, recurring times (e.g. "opening", "consultation", "training", "service"). Individual exceptions (holidays, special dates) can be maintained separately as dated entries.
Phone / contact — website, email, phone, address.
Services — what the organisation offers, as a short list with optional notes.
Note for special cases — a free-text field, e.g. for emergency-service or holiday notices.

On top of that there is a completeness hint ("Complete your profile — still missing: …") that gently points you to the next sensible block. If a block simply does not apply to your organisation, you mark it with a toggle as "not applicable". Then:

It no longer counts against completeness — you are never reminded of something you don't even have.
The corresponding section is hidden on the public profile (no empty shell).

A fee note and dated exceptions are deliberately not a mandatory block — the corresponding sections hide themselves anyway when they are empty.

Add and submit sources¶

Through External sources you feed content automatically (for example RSS feeds or iCal calendars). Submitted sources go through a review: from submitted through technically checked to approved or rejected. Only approved sources deliver content.

Screenshot: the source list with review status — assets/screenshots/organisations-sources-review.png

Transfer ownership¶

When you hand over responsibility, you can transfer ownership — so the organisation stays looked after without interruption.

Archive, reactivate, delete¶

When an organisation is temporarily not looked after, you can archive it. Unlike before, this is a reversible suspension, not a teardown:

Active memberships remain in place.
Approved sources are paused (not deleted) and resume on reactivation.
On reactivation the organisation is published again if an owner is still present (otherwise it lands as "orphaned" and is claimable again).

Deletion is final and only possible from the archived state — a deliberate two-step, so nothing disappears by accident.

For admins & operators¶

As an instance admin you manage organisations instance-wide — bundled in the review cockpit under Governance → Organisations.

Review requests and sources¶

New suggestions (drafts) appear in a review queue. You approve or reject them.
Submitted sources you review centrally and set to approved or rejected — including a short reason on rejection.
A red attention marker on the Organisations row in the governance hub shows live when something is waiting for you.

Look after orphaned organisations¶

For orphaned organisations you can assign an owner directly, instead of waiting for a claim.

Important separation: an admin is not automatically a caretaker¶

locali deliberately separates platform management from content caretaking. For an organisation that already has an owner, an instance admin is not its caretaker: you cannot edit its content and cannot enter its management — you see the same "Report info" option as any other citizen. Only while an organisation is orphaned do you step in as a legitimate stand-in.

This protects self-management: whoever maintains their profile keeps authority over it.

Screenshot: the review cockpit with requests and sources — assets/screenshots/organisations-review-cockpit.png

Notifications¶

locali keeps you up to date on the important events — for example when an organisation becomes orphaned, when a claim arrives or is confirmed, or when a "Report info" report concerns your organisation. That way you never miss an action that needs your attention.

Frequently asked questions¶

Question	Answer
Do I need to sign in to see the directory?	No. The directory and profiles are public. Claiming, managing, reporting or suggesting requires signing in.
What is the difference between an organisation and a place?	A place is a group with a feed and membership; an organisation is an actor that feeds content through sources and maintains its own profile.
Does "looked-after" mean the details are verified?	No. "Looked-after" means someone takes care of the profile and maintains it — not that individual facts have been officially verified. Please check important information against the original source.
Who may take over an orphaned organisation?	Whoever officially represents it and can confirm the verification code at the official contact.
What happens to sources when archiving?	They are paused (not deleted) and resume on reactivation. Memberships remain in place.
Can an admin simply change my profile?	No — as long as your organisation has an owner, an admin cannot edit the content, only "Report info" (like everyone else).
Can you simply "join" an organisation?	No — members are added deliberately by owners.