The Government Onchain Open Data (GOOD) Project, conducted by Filecoin Teaching Legal Fellow Charles Belle and research by Reuben Rosenberg, addresses a critical challenge facing government entities: how to make decentralized storage accessible for public data preservation while maintaining democratic values of transparency and accountability.
The Problem: Accessibility Barriers in Decentralized Storage
Government agencies currently spend millions annually on fragmented, expensive cloud storage solutions that create vendor lock-in and require technical expertise most civic organizations lack. While Filecoin’s decentralized storage network offers promising alternatives—potentially reducing costs while eliminating single points of failure—existing tools remain inaccessible to the average government employee.
The GOOD Project’s research identified this accessibility gap as the primary barrier to adoption. Current Filecoin onramps like Storacha, Lighthouse, and Singularity each present significant limitations for government users. Storacha offers developer-focused CLI tools but lacks web interfaces. Lighthouse provides drag-and-drop functionality but failed reliability tests during the research. While Singularity enables comprehensive data preparation but requires substantial technical knowledge and ongoing management overhead.
Research Methodology and Technical Analysis
The research team conducted comprehensive technical testing of existing Filecoin infrastructure, evaluating four key criteria: simplicity (achievable by first-time users without coding experience), transparency (providing content identifiers for verification), metadata integration (ensuring discoverability), and cost sustainability (financially viable for public entities).
Through practical experimentation with multiple storage solutions, the researchers documented the fundamental tradeoff between ease of use and cost optimization. While some tools excel in simplicity, they provide limited flexibility for customizing storage parameters. Others offer the highest degree of customization and lowest long-term costs but require substantial technical knowledge.
The study’s technical analysis revealed that none of the existing tools adequately address the specific needs of non-technical civic users who require simple interfaces, transparent processes, and cost-effective solutions for preserving public data.
Proposed Solution: User-Friendly Decentralized Storage Platform
The GOOD Project’s primary recommendation is developing a web application specifically designed for civic technologists and government officials. This platform would abstract complex Filecoin interactions behind an intuitive interface, enabling any government employee to upload public datasets through simple drag-and-drop functionality without requiring blockchain expertise.
The proposed platform addresses the unique requirements of government data management through several key features:
- Simplified User Experience: Drag-and-drop file upload with minimal metadata forms captures essential information while maintaining accessibility across technical skill levels. Real-time progress feedback and automatic CID generation provide transparency without complexity.
- Backend Automation: The system handles all Filecoin network interactions automatically, including data validation, CAR file conversion for network compatibility, automated storage deal creation, and version control for tracking data updates while maintaining historical records.
- Democratic Architecture: Unlike centralized cloud services, the platform enables citizens to independently verify data integrity through blockchain proofs, ensures no single entity can delete or modify public records, and maintains government data under public control rather than corporate platforms.
Economic and Democratic Benefits
The research demonstrates several measurable benefits for government adoption of decentralized storage through accessible tools. Cost efficiency emerges as a primary advantage, with potential significant long-term savings compared to traditional cloud providers, though initial implementation requires upfront investment in time and tools.
More importantly, the platform addresses fundamental democratic values. Transparency increases through citizen-verifiable data integrity, while permanence ensures public records cannot be unilaterally modified or deleted. The standardized platform approach reduces complexity and costs particularly for smaller municipalities that often lack technical resources.
Data sovereignty represents perhaps the most significant democratic benefit. Government data remains under public control rather than subject to corporate policy changes, service interruptions, or vendor lock-in situations that can compromise public access to essential information.
Implementation Strategy and Future Development
The GOOD Project recommends a phased implementation approach beginning with Storacha integration for rapid deployment and user testing, followed by migration to native Filecoin node operation as usage scales and technical capacity develops. This dual-path strategy enables quick launch while maintaining flexibility for long-term cost optimization.
A prototype demonstration developed using Lovable.dev showcases the core user experience and technical architecture, validating that complex blockchain interactions can be simplified into intuitive interfaces for government users. The mockup serves as a foundation for gathering feedback from potential government users and civic organizations.
Broader Implications for Civic Technology
The GOOD Project represents more than a storage solution—it exemplifies how decentralized technology can be designed to serve democratic institutions rather than replace them. By making Filecoin accessible to government users at all levels, from federal agencies to local nonprofits, the platform significantly expands the network’s role in preserving public interest data.
The research contributes to broader conversations about digital sovereignty for democratic institutions. As government agencies increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, the choice between centralized corporate services and decentralized public alternatives becomes a fundamental question of democratic governance.
The GOOD Project establishes that with proper tooling, decentralized storage can transform government data management from expensive, vendor-dependent systems into transparent, cost-effective, and citizen-verifiable infrastructure that serves democratic values rather than corporate interests.
The complete GOOD Project report is available here.
