Project Description
CommunityMate
CommunityMate is an agentic, inclusive assistant that helps residents
discover government & community services, build civic knowledge,
and take action safely and inclusively.
Overview
- Explains Australian democracy with trusted sources (PEO) and plain language
- Finds nearby government/community services and opportunities (council, libraries, volunteering)
- Guides engagement with representatives and services (write, visit, follow up)
- With consent: creates simple reminders and simulated bookings
- Built for low digital literacy and multilingual use, with voice input, easy-read options, and human handover
How it addresses the challenge
Sense of belonging and connection
- “Near me” hubs: councils, libraries, community centres
- Encouraging tone, multilingual replies, human handover to volunteers (simulated)
Civic knowledge and confidence
- RAG-powered answers from Parliamentary Education Office (PEO)
- Clear “What it is / How it works / Do next” explanations
Active participation and contributions
- Surfaces local volunteering & programs via gov/community datasets
- Gentle reminders for civic milestones
Satisfaction and trust
- Consent-first design, minimal local storage, transparent receipts
- Crisis routing and safe boundaries (no clinical/legal/financial advice)
Key User Journeys
- Learn: “What are my rights and responsibilities as a voter?” → concise, sourced steps
- Find: “Find my local council office” → 2–5 options with hours + map links
- Participate: “Volunteering near [suburb]” → nearby opportunities and contacts
- Act: “Set a reminder to check my enrolment” → creates .ics file (with consent)
- Get help: “I need support with tenancy” → service pathways + human handover option
Demo Screenshots
Features
- Free text + voice input; up to 1–3 clarifying follow-ups
- Lists 2–5 nearby options with hours, contacts, travel estimates + maps
- With consent: simulate bookings, form submissions, and calendar reminders (.ics)
- Human handover: volunteer follow-up note (simulated)
- “Near me” via saved address; transport-aware ranking (walk/transit/car)
- Access needs support: easy-read mode, step-by-step flow
Technical Architecture
- Frontend: Streamlit app + mic input (
streamlit-mic-recorder)
- Agent: LangChain + OpenAI Chat (
gpt-4o-mini default)
- Semantic search: FAISS + OpenAI embeddings (
text-embedding-3-small)
- Geospatial: Nominatim (geocoding) + OSRM (routing)
- Tools: find services, consent, book, forms, reminders, escalate
- Data: CSV gov datasets (
SERVICES_CSV_PATH)
- Receipts: Local JSON + ICS written to
./out
- Config:
.env → OSRM_BASE_URL, SERVICES_CSV_PATH, LLM_MODEL, etc.
Accessibility, Safety & Trust
- Low literacy: short sentences, easy-read toggle, step-by-step actions
- Multilingual: reply in user’s language (scope-guarded prompts)
- Consent-first: reminders/forms only after explicit approval
- Data minimisation: minimal local storage with JSON receipts
- Safety boundaries: no clinical/legal/financial advice; crisis routing (000, Lifeline, 1800RESPECT)
Roadmap
- Live MP/MLA lookup via AEC/APH data
- Deeper local participation feeds (consultations, events, volunteering)
- Secure SMS/email reminders + translations for priority languages
- Freshness checks + verification signals
- Accessibility: WCAG audit; expanded voice flows
- Optional integrations: booking APIs + community helpdesk
Closing
CommunityMate is designed to turn curiosity into civic participation.
It reduces friction for new Australians, builds confidence with trusted explanations,
and nudges real-world connection to local community life.
Try the Live Demo
Click here to launch the CommunityMate Demo
