The thoughts for the project started in a bus in Brussels when the leading public servants and the leading politicians for the municipality were there for a visit to learn more about the European Union, the work, the aim and how the Union can help small municipalities in rural parts, like Svenljunga, to continue to exist and to grow.

The idea then came from a discussion about the importance to help the citizens to get a more flexible way in the contact with authorities by for example using e-services and the problem for the citizens that do not have skills to use computers or to use the e-services, which not always are so easy to use.
“This must be a problem for all authorities which is developing e-services".  -This was in April 2003.

To get the idea approved by the politicians in the municipality, gain approval by the civil servants and at last by the joint secretariat, took nearly 3 year. In
December 2005 the municipality got the phone call that said, “Congratulation, the application for the i-COIN project is approved!".