Summer pilot 2026 · 1 June – 1 October
In the summer of 2026 we ran a pilot
We looked into whether it is desirable to make a briefadres more accessible for homeless people in Amsterdam, and at how we would go about it. After that we built a first working version of an app and tested it with the target group.
What we did
Listen first, then build, then keep listening
- We interviewed homeless people, and worked out the municipal process for granting a briefadres.
- Started building a personal data infrastructure application, now equipped to support Amsterdam briefadres applications.
- We also spoke with municipal staff who decide on these applications, and with support workers.
- Had the app tested by the target group as soon as there was enough to work with. Those tests are still running.
- And now: in conversation with the city about the app, and about what should be better or different from their side.
What we learned
Three important insights
- A briefadres is something people want Many of the people we spoke to want a briefadres, and know it is the step that makes many other important things possible.
- Alone, it is too hard Without a support worker it rarely works out. It takes a long time, and along the way it is unclear where you stand or why you were refused.
- An app is not enough An app can certainly help, but getting and keeping a briefadres is never going to happen through an app alone. A conversation at the counter is required, and post is collected in person.
Conclusions of the pilot
Four questions, and where the answer stands
- Does the idea work? Can we really work out someone's rights from their data, in a way they understand and trust? Yes, with ten real test participants as well as ten fictional ones: they went through the whole app, from the first question to a downloaded form. The next step is finding out what the municipality makes of those forms and what could be better.
- Does the target group want this? Do homeless people in Amsterdam see Rajto as useful, or are we solving the wrong problem? It has been tested with them, and testing continues. The main finding from the first test was not “does it work” but “too much text”, and the app has been revised screen by screen on that point since.
- Can we build it? Does a small group of volunteers have the people, the time and the way of working to make this real? Yes. It is there, it is tested, and it works on a phone and in a browser.
- Does it achieve anything? Making software is one thing. Improving somebody's situation is another. We know just too little for this, because it needs reviews from the municipality and some more testing.
Next steps
Around 1 October 2026 we choose a direction
There are demos, for the boards of the organisations backing us and for users and support workers. After that we go one of three ways:
- carry on and formalise: a foundation, look for funding, keep building on this project;
- rework the idea substantially: keep what works, drop what does not;
- stop and do something else, if the idea turns out to be wrong.
A pilot that ‘succeeds’ because we wanted it to is worse than a pilot that honestly fails.