gov tech - citizen engagement special
TRANSCRIPT
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a supple ment to pu bl ic
GreG Fischer,
Mayor of
LouisviLLe, Ky.,
Winner of the
Best of the WeB
City PortaL aWard
Engagement Special ReporCitizen &Business
A ReseARch RepoRt fRom
the center for digital government
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
[ from the executive Director]
PresidentAbrahamLincoln,inhisfamousGettysburgAddress,didntlooktotheConstitutionfor
inspiration,butrathertotheDeclarationofIndependencewhenhedistilledtheessenceofAmerican
governmentto,ofthepeople,bythepeopleandforthepeople
Foranygovernment,soconstituted,tobe
successful,thepeoplemustbeactivelyengaged
intheprocessofgovernmentandnotmerelysubject
toit.Technologyisreducingtheimportanceof
timeandmoneyasrequisitesforcivicparticipation.
Recentnationalsurveysdemonstratethatwhat
manyofusthoughtweknewaboutthedigital
divideasalimiterofaccessandparticipationis
provingnottobeaccurate.AlmosthalfofAmerican
adultscurrentlyownsmartphones,anumberthatis
rapidlyincreasing.
Publicexpectationsofinteractionwithgovernment
arebeingfueledbyprivatesectorexperiencesthat
oftensetahighbar.Themostsuccessfulagencies
areembracingthischangeandusingtechnologytodeveloprobustrelationshipswiththosetheyserve
acrosstheorganizationalserviceportfolio.
Thisisimportantbecausepeoplewanttoseemore,knowmoreandsaymoreabouttheirgovernment
andtheywanttofeelliketheyarebeingheard.Thisisempoweringandencouragesthemtoparticipate
intheircommunities,therebymakingthosecommunitiesstrongerandmorevibrant.
ThisPublicCIOSpecialReportlooksatthechangingnatureofcitizenandbusinessengagement.
Ithighlightsbestpracticesandexamplesofsuccessfulpoliciesandimplementationstrategiesfrom
publicagenciesacrossthenation.Wetrustyouwillnditinformativeandusefulasyouworktobettercommunicate,interactandengagewithyourconstituents.
Todd Sander
Executive Director, Center for Digital Government
CitizensToday:SeeingMore,KnowingMoreandSayingMoreAboutGovernment
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPPUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REP
2
24
General Guidelines forPublic Engagement 2.0
Bottom line: Communicate, interact and e
30
3-1-1 on Steroids
Its high time to lift the burden off of the
call center.
24
Open Data:Not Just a Trend
Open data has legs its here to stay and
the potential to be a powerful engagemen
20
The Power of Many
Crowdsourcing taps the wisdom and talentsof governments greatest asset its people.
26
Adjust Your APP-titude
Citizen service delivery: If there isnt already
an app for it, there should be.
22
Friends, Fans andFollowers
Social media has government agencies
and citizens interacting like old friends.
Citizen and BusinessEngagement 2.0
So long, snail mail.
Mobility + SocialMedia: The NewFoundation ofPublic Engagement
Government-to-citizen interactionis increasingly convenient and
happening in real time.
The Ever-EvolvingPortal
Static is out, dynamic is in.
14
4
6
8
JESSICAMULHOLLAND
SHUttErStOCk.C
OM
Jonathan
Reichental,
CIO for the city of
Palo Alto, Calif.
content
2012 e.Republic. All Rights ReseRved
100 blue RAvine RoAd, Folsom, cA 95630
916.932.1300 phone | 916.932.1470 FAx
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Solong,snailmail.
[ C ]
CitizenandBusinessEngagement2.0
The convergence of ubiquitous
mobility with user-centric,
interactive social media tech-
nologies has pushed federal, state and
local governments to develop technol-ogy initiatives that provide citizens
and businesses with unprecedented
opportunities for communication.
For example, the state of Wash-
ington developed an app that allows
citizens to register to vote using Face-
book,1 while the U.S. Army maintains a
Pinterest board to connect with Army
families.2 The city of Palo Alto, Calif.,
harnessed the power of open data to
enable armchair budget analysts to
review its inner financial workings,3
and Virginias e-procurement portalmakes it easy for businesses to view
RFPs, make bids, receive orders and
submit invoices and in the process
has helped the state save money. The
city of New Haven, Conn., developed
an interactive Web forum where users
can report and track problems such as
graffiti, broken pipes and abandoned
cars.4 And NASA learned that
interest in Mars is high when they
tabulated the opinions of more than
1,200 citizens that participated in
an online voting forum on the Mars
ROVER mission.5
Governments are used to having
constituents not friends, fans and
followers. Citizen engagement histori-
cally meant snail mail and telephone
calls that didnt require immediate
action, or even acknowledgement.
And 10 years ago, opening an
agencys data for the world to review
was unheard of. Its a new era of
citizen and business engagement
that builds a close-knit community
of governments and their employees
as well as hundreds, thousands,
even millions of their friends.
Governments are embracing new
technology-driven models of citizen
engagement. Many large governments
or agencies, such as the state of
Maryland and New York City, havefull-time digital media strategists
or other staff that plan and manage
multi-faceted public engagement
efforts. As a result, governments
are reaching exponentially more
citizens, reaping the rewards of
being more transparent and dare
we say it becoming cool.Z
GettyimaGes.c
om
Attendees use of mobiledevices at the 2012
emocratic ational
Convention highlights how
dependent citizens are on
handheld technologies.
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The Center for Digital Governmentsurveyed 100 state and local government leaders on their agencies citizen and businessengagement initiatives. The results paint a picture of how agencies are utilizing social media and digital tools to connect with constituents
and also reveal some of the challenges they need to overcome.
[ Survey HigHligH
Suy sys:
GovernmentSfv lmd ktoconnect with citizenSiS Facebook(11%).
56% of government agencies surveyedhad developed applications for businesses within their jurisdiction. These mobile
business applications are primarily used for permitting (33%) and licensing (23%).
69percent oFreSpondentS Saidtheir city/county/state website was th
aorite too to connect with citizens.
50 percent oF reSpondentSsai
their biggest obstace to getting citizens engage was
ac o tie an sta to eicate to new techniques.
35% of agencies anddepartments surveyeddo not have a budget for
citizen engagement initiatives.
46%
oF aGencieSand
departmentSSrveedd dvlpd
mlppl
For theirconStitentS.
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Technology initiatives that
improve public engagement are
being ueled by citizen expecta-
tions based upon their interaction with
the private sector. Mobility and social
media technologies are the underpin-
nings o a new type o government
interaction with constituents and
businesses that is increasingly con-venient and happening in real time.
For example, citizens can report
potholes, grafti, electrical outages,
broken tree limbs or other non-emer-
gency events to local government
using mobile applications and social
media tools that allow simple interac-
tion with the appropriate department.
Instead o unreturned emails and
phone messages, new citizen engage-
ment tools have eedback loops that
inorm users o the status o requests
and complaints, giving them a eeling
o empowerment and encouraging
them to continue to participate in
their community. For their part,
governments become more efcient,eective, accountable and transparent.
Make Mine Mobile, Please
A March 2012 survey by the Pew
Research Center showed that 46
percent o American adults own
smartphones an increase o 11
percent in 10 months and that
[ Fudm ]
The New Foundation of
Public Engagement
Mobility+SocialMedia:
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
PERCENT55
FoR maNy oF
ThEm, ThE dEvi
has bEComE
ThE PREFERREd
modE oF
iNTERNET aCCEs
oF CEll PhoNE
owNERs aCCEss
ThE iNTERNET
oR ChECk
Email usiNg
ThEiR PhoNE
oF smaRTPhoNE
usERs suRvEyEd
said ThEy usE ThEiR
PhoNE, iNsTEad oF
a ComPuTER, To
aCCEss ThE iNTERNETPERCENT25 iN maNy CasEs bECausE ThEy
laCk high-sPEEd iNTERNET aT homE
Source: Pew Research Center March 2012 Survey14
smartphone owners outnumber
users o basic mobile phones.6
Fity-ve percent o cell phone
owners access the Internet or check
email using their phone.7 For many
o them, the device has become the
preerred mode o Internet access:
25 percent o smartphone users
surveyed said they use their phone,
instead o a computer, to access the
Internet in many cases because they
lack high-speed Internet at home.8
Pew ound that non-college gradu-
ates and those with annual incomes
o less than $50,000 are more likely
to use their phones or online access
than those with higher incomes
and education levels, suggesting
that conventional ideas about thedigital divide may not be applicable
to mobile technology.9 Similarly,
Nielsen has ound that smartphone
adoption crosses racial boundaries.10
As consumers increase the use o
mobile devices, they expect organiza-
tions to provide easy mobile access,
mobile apps and other tools that
allow them to leverage their mobile
device to improve communication and
increase productivity. By leveraging
the mobility boom, governments
can improve service delivery and
communications and provide a
huge boost in citizen satisaction.
Social Media: Are You Listening?
With mobile phones, citizens
ask Can you hear me? With social
media, they ask Are you listening?
Social media uels the need and
desire to communicate and interact
with people and organizations
that were ormerly unreachable.
Social media is ree the only
thing one needs is Internet ac-
cess. And increasingly, more users
are accessing social media sites
rom mobile phones instead o
devices with xed connections.11
The number o global social media
users is ast approaching two billion.
Facebook alone has more than a
billion registered users;12 Twitter has
hal a billion.13 And thats just two
o hundreds o social networking
sites, not to mention individual blogs
and other interactive websites.
Well-inormed public sector leaders
understand that citizen engagement
requires citizens to have access to
government agencies and elected
ofcials. Historically, this meant
opening multiple communication
channels, such as walk-in ofce visits,
letters, telephone numbers maybe
even a contact center and even the
good old-ashioned suggestion box.
The advent o the digital age means
adding email and websites to the list.
Social media urther increases
the number o digital communication
channels that governments can use
to communicate with their constitu-
ents. By embracing social media, the
public sector can expand its outreach
initiatives and urther increase
citizen satisaction.Z
itizens canreport potholes, grafti,
electrical otages, broken
tree libs or other
non-eergency events to
local governent sing
obile applications an
social eia tools.
flickr/Esth
ErG
ibbons
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[ W ]
JoeThomassen
TheEver-
EvolvingPortal
8 PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
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Alabama.govWinner of the
est of the Web tate
Portal Award
T
he popularity of mobility and
social media has impacted
Web page design and func-
tionality, even in the public sector.
The functionality and aesthetics of
government sites are beginning to
rival the most innovative private
sector companies. Static is out;
dynamic is in. Lackluster design?
Out. Obsolete contact information?
Way out. Online service delivery? In.
Instant or near-instant interactivity,
and integration with social media
and mobility? In, in and in.
Government agencies focused their
early eorts on self-service transac-
tions, such as hunting and shing
licenses, tax and other payments,
permitting, background checks, drivers
licenses, auto registration renewals
and park reservations. Now theyre
taking their websites to the next level,
following the lead of the private sector
community, which has built brands by
innovating websites and using them to
improve customer self-service, develop
customer loyalty, gain competitive
advantage and help customer-facing
employees be more productive. By
enhancing navigation, usability, pre-
sentation and integration with mobility
and social media, public sector agencies
are creating portals that put constituent
convenience rst.
Why bother? In testimony before
the House Ways and Means Commit-
tee, the CEO of customer experience
analytics research rm ForeSee
said that citizens with high levels
of website satisfaction also report
having higher trust in the agency and
are 48 percent more likely to provide
feedback than those who are less
satised. In addition, website satisfac-
tion increases the likelihood that
the citizen will return to the website
again and recommend the site to
others both factors that help reduce
the use of more expensive communi-
cation channels.15
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
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10 PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Citizen Passions Fuel the Best Websites
The state of Missouris website is
designed to respond to the passions
of its citizens, says acting CIO Tim
Robyn. We found that the best way to
keep citizens engaged is to give them
multiple opportunities to interact
with us on the activities and interests
that they are most enthusiastic about,
he explains.
Missourians, it turns out, are
passionate admirers of their states
natural beauty, so the states website
is packed with ways for them to dis-
cover nature. Lovers of the outdoors
can apply for a hunting or shinglicense, take an online boating safety
course or reserve a campsite at a state
park or campground.
AgriMissouri, a program that con-
nects local farms to consumers, is the
focus of one of the states most success-
ful Web portals, www.agrimissouri.
com, which promotes agritourism as
a way to simultaneously educate con-
sumers about local food choices and
boost the states agriculture industry.
By engaging agribusinesses and citi-
zens with each other, the government
can play a part in bringing together
local producers and consumers, says
Robyn. Its a win-win for everybody.
Theres much more to www.mo.gov
than nature and agriculture, though.
The state currently oers its residents
access to more than 650 online services.
For example, citizens can obtain a
copy of their GED transcript, submit a
cruelty complaint against a dog breeder
or transfer money to an inmate.
16
Engage Businesses with
Business-Friendly Websites
Governments can also use their
Web portals to bolster their reputa-
tion as a business-friendly jurisdic-
tion. For example, to help develop
the states workforce by connecting
employers and potential employees,
the Colorado Department of Labor
and Employment (CDLE) provides on-
line meeting technology to registered
users. The department has hosted
virtual job fa irs, workshops, trainings
and live employer presentations.
Two recent virtual job fairs held by
the Pueblo and Pikes Peak workforce
centers served more than 1,000 job
seekers. Participating employers
saved on costs for booths, materials,
travel and stang; the workforce
centers reduced sta coordination
time and eliminated facility costs.17
One of the most helpful ways toengage the business community is to
develop an online procurement applica-
tion. Traditional, paper-based purchas-
ing processes are very labor-intensive
and cumbersome, notes Bob Sievert,
director of Virginias e-Procurement
Bureau, Division of Purchases and
Supply. The paper-based process
(LF) AgriMissouri, a program
that connects local farms to
consumers, is the focus of one
of the states most successful
Web portals. (RGH) Residents
explore caverns at Lake of the
Ozarks tate Park.
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
missouriDeparTmenTofnaT
uralresources
WHAt MAkes A Good
Government Website?
Winning websites make liberal use of
mobile optimization, location awareness,
live customer service, and notifications
and alerts.20
3 Mobile optimization. As more
information seekers arrive at websites
via smartphones and tablets, websites
need to be optimized for mobile
devices. The state of California and
Rhode Islands Department of Health,
among others, use a technique called
responsive design, which automatically
scales and reformats website content
to fit smaller screen sizes.
3 Location awareness. Location-aware
websites use global positioning system
(GPS) data to automatically determine
user location to display relevant local
information. Users can also manually
input their location information to
receive a map with the location of
nearby offices and facilities. Californias
website uses GPS to automatically
serve up location-aware information to
mobile users.
3 Live customer service. Live customer
service assists users as they navigate
websites and complete transactions.
The state of Nebraskas website allows
surfers to open a chat window and get
help from a live representative, while
mobile users of the Alabama state
portal can text state staff for help.
3 Notification services. Citizens
increasingly want to sign up for
customized email or text-basedreminders and alerts for information
such as severe weather conditions,
traffic problems and activity reminders.
More than 90,000 residents are
subscribed to Louisvilles notification
system, which reminds them of garbage
pickup days and delivers crime data,
among other alerts.
makes it hard to bring more vendors
involved in the bidding process.
Virginias online procurement
system, known as eVA, has been
instrumental in engaging more small,
women- and minority-owned busi-
nesses in the government procurement
process. Many of these businesses
dont often have the sta resources to
deal with a complicated paper-based
procurement process, says Sievert.
Our e-procurement solution makes
it easier for them to participate and
helps level the playing eld. This
increases competition and leads to
better pricing, which means that taxdollars are used more eciently.
eVA allows state agencies, edu-
cational institutions and many local
governments to conduct all sourcing
and purchasing activities for goods
and services. It also enables the state
to capture e-procurement data and
make it available for citizen review.
Taxpayers can access reports that pro-
vide detail on what the state is buying
and from which vendors, how much it
paid and other spending information.
eVA serves 171 state organizations,
more than 23,000 employees and 600
local governments. More than 53,000
suppliers including 15,000 small,
women- and minority-owned busi-
nesses are signed up on eVA.18
Oklahoma implemented QuickTax,
a statewide online business tax ling
system. Launched in early 2011,
QuickTax allows most businesses
to view and pay their taxes via the
Internet. Its the kind of easy, com-mon-sense service that eGovernment
excels at providing.
Its been a huge success, says
Mary Frantz, deputy administrator
of the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
If we dont have to touch a piece of
paper, the errors are reduced and
costs are saved.19Z
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Each year, the Center for Digital Government highlights some o the most
innovative applications and websites rom cities, counties and states, as well as
the ederal government. The Best o the Web Awards showcase the excellence
o ofcial Web portals o cities, counties and states. The Digital Government
Achievement Awards recognize outstanding agency and department websites
and application and inrastructure projects or all levels o government.
Lets take a look at how some o this years winners used websites and applications
to improve engagement with citizens and businesses.
2012Digital
GovernmentAchievementAwards
12
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
ALABAA - First place, state portal
category.Alabamas Web portal
includes online and text options
or live chat and eatures a variety
o customizable interactive maps,
children- and student-specifc
content and integration with multiple
social media sites. The state brings
awareness to the sites 150 online
services by rotating various service
statistics on the home page.
AADA, CL. -Second place, city
portal category.Arvadas website
eatures a rotating image-based
news eed and graphic icons that
link to eatured content. The city
includes copious amounts o open
data and location-based inormation
and maps. Socially, the home page
eatures recent videos and podcasts,
as well as links to multiple social
media accounts and a mobile app in
the Android and Apple app stores.
CALA-Second place, state porta
category. Caliornias Web page gives
prominent access to news, popular
searches and pages, new videos and
the states 280 social media accounts.
A website data dashboard parses
important website visit data, such as
number o visits per day and per mont
mobile visits and social media ollower
Featured
Best oF the WeB
aWard Winners
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
LLL, K. - First place, city portal
category. The Louisville portal includes
links to an active social media center
with multiple social tools, including
virtual town meetings conducted
via Facebook and Twitter. This year
the city added geospatial data, giving
citizens the ability to fnd services
and locations on a map-based tool.
AG CT, LA. - First place,
county portal category. Orange
Countys recently revamped website is
designed to be as intuitive as possible
or citizens. Real-time online services
include inormation on active fre
rescue operations, lost and available
pets, current county inmates, online
permitting and utility bill payment.
PLLA CT, LA. -Second place,
county portal category. Using integrated
map-based tools, residents can learn
about their neighborhood, report
a service issue and fnd evacuation
and other emergency inormation.
Featured
digital government
achievement
aWard Winners
TA -Government-to-citizen
award, state government category.
The Minnesota Governors Council
on Developmental Disabilities
developed the Autism Help app,
which helps children and adults
with autism communicate in
emergency situations by employing a
commonly used color-coded scale.
W J - Government-to-business
award. The Garden State makes it easy
or car dealers to issue and manage
temporary vehicle tags with the online
Temp Tags application. The website
eliminates handwritten orms, enabling
dealers to print temporary vehicle tags
directly rom their own printers.
AG CT, CAL. - Government-
to-citizen award, local government
category. On its revamped website,
OCVote.com, the Orange County
Registrar o Voters give residents the
ability to register to vote, maintain
their registration, request vote-by-
mail ballots, replace a lost ballot,
sign up or online voter inormation
and volunteer to be a poll worker.
PLADLPA, PA. -Driving digital
government award, local government
category. Change by Us Philly, a civic
engagement platorm that leveragesthe power o crowdsourcing and
social media, enables citizens to
share ideas and create projects that
beneft the city o Philadelphia.
ALT LAK CT, TA - Government-
to-citizen award, local government
category. The goal o the Solar Salt
Lake Project is to acilitate at least 10
megawatts o solar installations by
2015. The website provides a three-
dimensional map and tools that allow
residents and businesses to determine
the solar potential o their property.
TA -Government-to-business
award. Utah's OneStop Business
Registration is a registration website
that allows business owners to
register with and receive licenses,
account numbers and documentation
rom fve agencies, including the
tax and labor commissions and the
departments o commerce, workorce
services and environmental quality.
WT GA - Driving digital
government award, state government
category. The Suspicious ActivityReporting mobile app is a ree
app that serves as an anonymous
digital tip line. It allows users to
submit tips along with geotagged
photos and video o suspicious
activity to state authorities. Z
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
change by us Philly leverages the
power of rowdsoring.
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
[ Sl Md ]
an
gettyimages/JoeRaedel
ory BookerThe Newark, N.J., mayors useof socia meia to connect with
resients is egenary.
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
Its sae to say that the use o social
media in government represents
a seismic shit in the way govern-
ments communicate and interact with
each other and their constituents.
Sophisticated social media strategies
and ongoing social media relationships
with citizens are helping government
agencies streamline communication,
reach new audiences and better engage
their current audiences by creatingcontent that is relevant to citizens.
Social media and government agen-
cies got o to a bumpy start, primarily
because the companies standard
terms o service conficted with ederal
and state laws and procurement guide-
lines. Over the last ew years, most
social media providers have worked
Streamliningcommunication,engaging
constituents
Followersriends, Fans
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with governments to modiy their
standard terms, spurring the adoption
o social media in the public sector.
Now, the use o social media
by government agencies is nearly
universal. A recent survey that tracks
and ranks the use o social media
in the 75 largest U.S. cities revealed
that more than 87 percent o them
used Facebook to engage the public
in 2011, compared to 13 percent in
2009. In addition, the use o YouTube
increased rom 16 to 75 percent and
Twitter use climbed rom 25 to 87
percent.21 Somerville, Mass., Social
Media Director Denise Taylor told
Government Technology that her citys
76,000 residents are more vested
in the community because o their
participation in social media. We
have seen attendance at meetings
increase signicantly because o it,
she said. Were receiving volunteers[and] including commission members
we werent reaching beore.22
Social media can be used e-
ectively by individuals as well as
organizations. Newark, N.J., Mayor
Cory Bookers use o social media to
connect with residents is legendary.
On his personal website, Facebook
page, YouTube channel and Twitter
eed, which he manages himsel,
Mayor Booker personally interacts
with citizens and responds to their
suggestions and help.
Ts t S Md Tx
Facebook and Twitter are the two
most popular social media vehicles
or government agencies. Pinterest is
a rising star, and a variety o other so-
cial networks and tools are available.
Facebook. Facebook is social
medias 800-pound gorilla. I a
government with limited resources
could only have one social media
account, it would probably choose
Facebook. A 2010 NASCIO survey
ound that it was the most re-
quently used social networking site
or state governments.23
Some o Facebooks most liked
sites are rom the ederal government.At this w riting, the Marines have
almost 2.5 million Facebook likes,24
NASA has nearly 1.3 million25 and the
Army has more than 1.6 million.26
Facebook is by ar the most
popular social media tool or Somer-
ville, a Boston suburb that has 27 (and
counting) Facebook pages or various
16
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
D wi o gag pbli87%
2011
D wi o gag pbli
25%2009
D Fabook o gag pbli
>87%2011
D Fabook o gag pbli13%2009
D Yob o gag pbli
75%2011
D Yob o gag pbli
2009 16%
engage The publica recent survey tht trcs nd rns
the use f sc med n the 75
rest .. ctes reveed:
gettyimages/aFP
NSThe agencys ocia
fee has more than
foowers. The fee f
atest Mars mission
wiy vira in Summ
Source: University of Illinois Chicago study, as reported by ScienceDaily
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
agencies, programs, departments and
initiatives. Somervilles Facebook
pages are part o an integrated
social media eort that also includes
multiple Twitter eeds, a couple o
YouTube channels and several blogs.
The most common Facebook use is
or day-to-day communication needs,
but governments also create Facebook
pages or special event promotion
and emergency communications.
The state o Washington has created
an app that allows users to register
to vote via Facebook (and announce
their newly registered status to their
riends). Washington, which already
allows online voter registration (and
is one o less than 20 states to do so),
is the rst state to allow Facebook-
based voter registration.27
Twitter. Like Facebook, Twitter is
used by governments or emergency
communications and to promote
special events and campaigns, but
it is most requently used or daily
engagement eorts.
For extra-heroic Twitter eorts,
we turn to NASA, which has received
much praise and recognition or its
use o Twitter (and all other social
media, or that matter). The space
agencys ocial Twitter eed has
more than 3 million ollowers at this
writing, and the eed or its latest
Mars mission went wildly viral
this past summer in Internet-
speak, it blew up the Twitterverse.
@MarsCuriosity live-tweeted its own
landing and subsequent explorations,
made an overnight Internet sensa-
tion out o the Mars Curiosity fight
director and has been credited with
reviving fagging interest in NASAs
space missions.
Leveraging the success o the ongo-
ing Mars Curiosity mission, NASA
created the hashtags #SpotTheShuttle
and #Endeavour and invited its
ollowers to post pictures on Twitter
(and Facebook) o the retired space
shuttle Endeavour as it was transport-
ed this all rom Texas to Caliornia
e Marines
ve amost
5 million
cebook ikes.
WhaT MakeS a gooSocial Media PreSeNce?
You can achieve sublime results by includ-
ing a few simple ingredients in your social
media recipe:
3 Sticky content. Find out what your con-
stituents love and make sure to include
relevant, interesting multimedia content that
your followers will want to share. Avoid past-
ing news release headlines into your social
media feeds, steer clear of political content
and be sure to post regularly.
3 Original content. Dont just repost the same
content on your Facebook page, Twitter feed
and blog. Try to post original or exclusive
content to each network at least part of the
time. Do, however, use social networks to link
to longer content on your website or blog.
3 Dialogue. Invite followers to engage by ask-
ing questions and encouraging dialogue.
Ask them what they want to see or learn
about and deliver it.
3 An authentic voice. Dont be afraid to sound
human. Be professional without being
robotic, boring or stiff.
3 The good, the bad and the ugly. Disgruntled
citizens may be publicly negative on gov-
ernment social media channels. Your first
reaction to a critical Facebook comment
might be to delete it, but resist the urge.
You show your commitment to openness
by leaving it up.
3 Ground rules. Do draw the line at
profanity, abuse and hate speech.
The GSAs Social Media Navigator,
located at www.gsa.gov/portal/
category/101299, provides suggestions
that are applicable across any level
of government.
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via 747. The agency invited 40 o its
social media ollowers, chosen in a
random online drawing, to attend
Endeavours arrival at the Edwards
Air Force Base and tour the shuttle
aterwards.28 The resulting Twitter
explosion allowed NASAs ollowers
to track the shuttle via Twitter as it
made its way rom Texas to Caliornia
and was yet another public engage-
ment win or the space agency.
Unortunately, not every agency
can tweet about Mars missions
and space shuttles. More mundane
government tweets can still create
buzz and engage the public, however.
A host o executive leaders, including
Louisvilles Mayor Greg Fischer, Palo
Altos Mayor Yiaway Yeh and Mary-
lands Governor Martin OMalley use
Twitter to host open online meetings
and tweet-ups where on-site
participants provide ongoing, real-
time tweets.29
The city o Seattle uses Twitter
extensively. Besides the mayors main
eed and the primary city council
eed, most council members have
individual eeds, as do many city
departments. The Seattle Police
Department is using Twitter to get
the latest word on city crime out to its
citizens. For example, to combat rising
car thet, the department created the
@getyourcarback eed to report the
make, model, year, color and license
plate o all stolen automobiles.30
The Seattle Police Department
recently launched Tweets by Beat,
a hyper-local Twitter project with
a near real-time eed or each o
18
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Welcome to the Seattle Police Departments Tweets By Beat page.
The Seattle Police Department is making it easier than ever beore or you to fnd out
about crime happening in your neighborhood. With Tweets by Beat, you can ollow or
view a Twitter eed o police dispatches in each o Seattles 51 police beats, and fnd
about the ashing lights and sirens on your block.
In order to protect crime victims, ofcers and the integrity o investigations, calls will
display one hour ater a dispatcher sends the call to an ofcer. The eeds also do not
include inormation about domestic violence calls, sexual assaults and other certain
types o crimes.
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Seattles 51 neighborhood police
beats. The department tweets most
o the crimes, emergencies and other
police calls by neighborhood. Theres
an hour delay or saety reasons
(to discourage gawkers) and some
crimes, such as sexual assaults, are
not reported or privacy reasons. Its
like a 21st-century police scanner,
says acting Chie Technology Ocer
(CTO) Erin Devoto.
One month ater its launch, more
than 8,000 people are using the
Tweets by Beat service.31
Pinterest. Pinterest is a fairly new
social network that capitalizes on the
appeal of images. It has catapulted
into the list of top 10 social networks,
behind only Facebook and Twitter,
in a little over two years. 32 Pinterest
may not be right for every govern-
ment agency, but because of its
astronomical growth rate, its worth
considering especially for agencies
with visually appealing content.33
The Army is on Pinterest, as are
the Navy and the National Guard.
Rhode Island and Maryland were
among the rst states to sign up.
In March, Maryland launched a
Pinterest Business Pitch Contest to
showcase its small businesses and
start-ups and encourage entrepre-
neurship. Entrepreneurs entered the
contest by creating a Pinterest page
and pitching their business ideas
using 10 photos.34 The competition
netted about 60 submissions, includ-
ing an eight-year-old who makes andsells duct tape wallets and a Johns
Hopkins University researcher with
a maternal health business.
Other tools. Many, many other
social media tools exist. Here are just
a ew o the ones that governments
are using to get the word (and the
image) out to their constituencies.
Flickr. Flickr is or sharing original
photos. Because its one o the
older social tools, many govern-
ments have been using it or some
time and will likely continue to do
so in spite o the prolieration o
integrated photo sharing on social
networks such as Facebook.
YouTube. Video-sharing networks
help government reach their con-
stituents, and YouTube is by ar the
biggest and most popular network.
Governments can develop and brand
their own unique video channel.
LinkedIn can help governments
connect with younger workers and
other social users that might nototherwise be considering govern-
ment employment. Many govern-
ments maintain an active presence
with details on job opportunities
and upcoming job airs.
Blogs are a great tool or long-orm
content or governments or indi-
vidual employees or ocials.Z
Who Should rePreSeNT The GoverNMeNT?
Many organizations and not just those in the public sector are confused about
who should be allowed to be social. Agency leaders must decide which departments,
agencies or programs should have their own social media page and on which networks,
and who will administer each social media presence.
Larger jurisdictions may be able to hire staffers that focus solely on social media.
Others may find it more cost effective to add social media responsibilities to the job
descriptions of individual program managers. (Consider that the most authentic voice
most likely belongs to employees that are most vested in or passionate about a pro-
gram.) Or, jurisdictions can combine the two strategies by having a social media or
digital communications manager or team that focuses on strategy and major initiatives,
while program managers handle the efforts for their specific programs.
Be careful not to position a post, comment or response as written by Mayor Smith
if its really written by a junior staffer. Similarly, be clear about who is able to address
which kind of topic. For example, is it OK for a junior staffer to respond to a question
about a sensitive or critical issue?
The General Service Administrations (GSA) policy is a good place to start developing
guidelines (www.s./s/stffffs/smdy.df). The agency
also has a video at www.wt./t/sss/t-t-s-md.
shutteRstock.com
69%thn sc med hs themst vue fr event rmtn.
69%thn sc med hs the
mst vue fr custmer/
cnsttuent servces.
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
o 100 STaTe an localgovernMenT leaerSSurvee b The cenTeror igiTal governMenT:
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Open data became important
for tracking tax dollar
spending when the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) was passed in 2009. The
open data trend has legs its hereto stay and it has the potential to be a
powerful public engagement tool.
Open data is governments low-
hanging public engagement fruit.
Thats because so many government-
public interactions are digital and
generate vast amounts of data, notes
Jonathan Reichental, CIO for the
city of Palo Alto, Calif. Government
data is owned by the people and by
liberating it, we create unlimited
opportunities for engaging the public,
he says. This also enables us to score
points in the community for beingmore transparent, increase public
trust and get better citizen feedback.
Palo Altos Open Data and Open
Budget initiatives launched in the
summer of 2012. Open Data provides
information on demographics,
community services, public works,
development center permits, public
utilities and more. A separate map-
based section for geographic data
includes locations of trees, parks
and trails. Open Budget is a highly
visual interactive platform that allows
users to view and analyze spending,revenue and other nancial data by all
departments. Users can view the data
in a variety of dierent graph styles or
lter it to nd specic information.36
Marylands StateStat performance
measurement and management tool
is based on a similar philosophy.
StateStats user-friendly online
OpenDataNotJustaTre
[ Ts ]
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
dashboards make it easy for
the public to review map-based
visualizations of the performance
of key public safety, health care and
social services agencies.
By putting information aboutits performance at its constituents
ngertips, StateStat builds trust
and encourages public engagement,
says Sameer Sidh, deputy director
of StateStat. RecoveryStat and
Marylands Recovery Act website
is a classic example, he explains.
We gave citizens the ability to
track spending by project type or by
location so they could understand
exactly how the money is being used.
Much of StateStat data is in
a document format that can be
cumbersome for users and computer
applications to read and analyze. The
state is in the process of transitioning
to an open data platform that will
provide users with interactive
capability. The open data platform
will build on what weve already
accomplished and provide the public
with even more tools that they can
use to analyze Marylands progress,
says Sidh.36
Location, Location, Location:
The Role of GIS
Who wants to look at a bunch
of tables and graphs? On the other
hand, everybody loves maps. Thatswhy geographic information systems
(GIS) technology is critical for states
that want to visually draw citizens
into their data. GIS databases with
location-based and map information
can be queried and analyzed to
enhance decision-making and
improve citizen engagement.
The combination of maps and
data is powerful it localizes
government right down to the citizens
neighborhood, street or residence.
Seattles open data platform, data.
seattle.gov, includes detailed map-
based information on crime, business
permits, electric permits, real-time
re dispatch, trac accidents and the
locations of city-owned bike racks, to
name just a few of the citys more than
100 datasets.
One popular open data project,
My Neighborhood Map, allows users
to map the location of basketball
courts, schools, cemeteries, play
areas, community centers, senior
centers, pools, emissions inspectors,
gardens, heritage trees and dozens
of other items located throughout
their neighborhood. Seattle CTO
Devoto echoes a message weveheard before the passion of the
citizen is key in building data-driven
maps products. Open data is
successful when its based on data
thats important to t he public, she
says. Residents are going to be
most engaged with data that theyre
interested in.37Z
JonathaneichentalIO for the city of
alo lto, alif.
Open Budget i a highlyviual interactive platformthat allow uer to viewand analyze pending,revenue and other financialdata by all department.
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[ Mob APPS ]
Chances are, i you need any
type o government inorma-
tion, theres already an app
or it. Governments are beginningto up the ante by providing service
delivery apps to allow citizens to do
business with governments rom
anywhere they happen to be.
The frst goal o the ederal Digital
Government Strategy is to enable the
American people and an increasingly
mobile workorce to access high-quality
digital government inormation and
services anywhere, anytime, on any de-
vice.
38
So its no surprise that the ederalgovernment has jumped into mobile app
development with both eet. The ederal
mobile apps gallery contains nearly
300 (and counting) apps or Apple,
Android and BlackBerry devices.39
State and local governments have
also been busy developing mobile apps
that put needed inormation at the us-
ers fngertips. In Caliornia, Alameda
Countys Voter Profle app allows
residents to view voter registrationstatus, polling place locations and a
sample ballot, among other tasks.
Utah has developed apps to make
lie easier or its residents and visitors.
Nature lovers can download mobile
apps that allow them to explore Utahs
state parks or receive avalanche
Adjust You APP-ttudeUppg the ate ctze sevce delvey
22
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
2012 vergreen Apps
Challenge Winners
flickr/evergreenA
pps
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advisories. Would-be drivers can
take drivers license practice tests,
while commuters have mobile access
to a wealth o inormation rom thestates extensive network o overhead
trac cameras and in-road trac
sensors.40 The Tennessee Department
o Transportation recently launched
SmartWay, an app designed to help
drivers reach their destination while
avoiding trac and other hassles.
Commuters can view live shots o
trac cameras on their route, helping
them plan detours i necessary.41
Jurisdictions that have embraced
open data can take advantage o
their residents talents by creating
a community app challenge. Since
the frst app challenge was held in
2009 by Washington, D.C., theyve
become a popular way or jurisdic-
tions to connect with citizens (and
enjoy the benefts o their technical
skills). The ederal government urged
citizens to use data rom data.gov
in its Apps or America challenges;
New York City ollowed with its
BigApps contest. Chicagos version
was called Apps or Metro Chicago.
A joint eort o King County,
the city o Seattle, and the state o
Washington and unded in part by
ARR A money, the 2012 Evergreen
Apps Challenge was open to all
Washington residents and eatured 10
prizes worth more than $75,000. The
contest challenges app developers to
make lie better in Washington by
creating apps that use data rom
data.seattle.gov, data.wa.gov, and
datakc.org.
42
There are a lot o ben-efts when we leverage resident talent
because residents understand the
community needs, says Seattles De-
voto. When the app grows organical-
ly rom within the community, theres
more support than when the govern-
ment pushes something out.43Z
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
What Makes a Good
Mobile APP?
Developing your first mobile app
can be intimidating. Find a good
development partner and keep the
following tenets in mind.
3 Strive for simplicity. Follow the
KISS (Keep it simple, stupid)
principle and keep it simple. Too
many functions and itll be hard
to use consider developing
multiple apps instead. The
same goes for design. It should
be intuitive and use pre-filled
categories or drop-down menus
to make it easy for the person
entering information.
3 Integrate with relevant systems.
If your app collects data, it should
integrate with existing systems, such
as work order or dispatch systems
for 3-1-1 apps. If it doesnt, staff will
waste time re-inputting data.
3 Leverage GPS technology. Apps
are more valuable when they
are able to leverage geospatial
information from the mobile
devices GPS and serve up location-
based content. This doubles or
triples your ability to connectwith constituents because its the
ultimate in personalization.
3 Support multiple platforms. No
single platform has won the mobile
OS war yet. Focus on only one at
your peril. You dont want to alienate
users of the other platforms.
When the app grows organical ly from within thecommunity, theres more support than when the
government pushes something out.
Erin DE, Ain iEf EnY ffiEr, iY f SEAE
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24
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Since the introduction o the frst
3-1-1 center in the mid-1990s,
the number o non-emergency
call centers or citizen complaints,requests or service and suggestions
has dramatically increased. But so has
the cost per call: A recent study o 15
cities ound that the average cost per
3-1-1 call was $3.39. For one city, the
cost was nearly $8.00 per call. This
is a signifcant investment, given that
some cities feld hundreds o thou-
sands, or even millions, o calls each
year.44 Given that budgets are under
the scalpel now and or the oresee-able uture, is 3-1-1 worth the cost?
By enhancing standard 3-1-1
services with social and mobile
technologies, governments open
multiple communication channels
or public engagement and lit some
o the burden rom the call center.
In this way, they can cut costs and
paradoxically reach more constitu-
ents particularly those who preer
to use mobile devices and the Internetinstead o traditional landline phones.
Bostons Citizens Connect initia-
tive is an example o souped-up
3-1-1. Its centerpiece is the Citizens
Connect app, ree or both Apple and
Android mobile devices, which allows
constituents to use their phones GPS
oSods3-1-1
[ 3-1-1 ]
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
and camera technology to specif-
cally identiy and report the location
and description o complaints or
service requests. Citizens get a casenumber that allows them to track
their requests, and they can view
the status o all submitted requests
plotted on a map or by photo.
This inormation is mirrored on
a separate Citizens Connect website
as well as a Twitter eed, both o
which can be used by t hose without
mobile devices to make a request.
Since its inception in 2009, the
Citizens Connect mobile app is now
the portal or 20 percent o the citys
3-1-1 requests. Boston CIO Bill Oates
toldSearchCIO.com that the public
response to the program has been
overwhelmingly positive. Not only
have we reached out and ound a
new way to connect with the citi-
zens, [but] we have also created a re-
ally low-cost channel to allow them
to do that, he says. Its been great,
and now we get all t he data gener-
ated rom those requests as well.45
The city o New Haven, Conn.,
has a work order submission
system on its website that it
has supplemented with a third-
party, database-driven com-
munity problem-solving website.
The subscription-based serv ice is
ideal or municipalities that dont
have the resources to develop
an in-house website, mobile ap-
plication or other 3-1-1 system.
New Havens system receives,
processes and tracks servicerequests, which can be viewed by
status on a map. It includes a ree
iPhone app, which enables users
to take and include photos in their
service request. The app geotags the
photos, using the phones GPS tech-
nology to record the exact location.
In Massachusetts, Somerville cre-
ated a Facebook 3-1-1 page to supple-
ment its call center. Residents can
post questions and service requests
via the Facebook interace or submit a
work order via a orm-based app. The
city also posts service reminders and
announcements about activities such
as city oce closings, street sweeping
and hydrant ushings. The citys
Facebook 3-1-1 eort has reduced
call center calls by 15 percent.
In addition to its Facebook page,
Somervilles 3-1-1 arsenal includes
a Twitter eed, an iPhone app and
a submission orm on its Web page.
Steve Craig, the citys 3-1-1 direc-
tor, told Government Technology
that he doesnt care what channel
citizens use to engage. It doesnt
really make a di erence to us
either way. Were happy to take
it, Craig said. We do ind that a
lot o constituents ind it [social
media] easier because t heyre busy.
I theyre at work or on the bus or
whatever theyre doing, its easier
or them to pull up their Facebook
page or Tw itter account.
46
One major beneft o online 3-1-1
systems is that they make visible the
work that a city does. This creates a
better sense o connection with the
public because constituents can see
that their requests and complaints
are being attended to.47Z
Not only have we reached out and found a new way toconnect with the citizens, [but] we have also created a really
low-cost channel to allow them to do that.
BillOateS,ChiefinfOrmatiOnOffiCer,CityOfBOStOn
shutterstock.c
om
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
Tom Menino
oston, and Mayor TomMenino, are known for
sing citizen engage-
ment initiatives to help
olve city problems.
ere, Menino speaks
t a Toys for Tots drive
n the city.
[ BT ]
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
Using social media-inuenced
tools that bring citizens
together to collaborate, crowd-
sourcing taps the wisdom and talents
o government constituencies to
address and solve pressing challenges
that they might not have the resources
to solve on their own. Its not new,
but the emergence o social media
technologies has helped it become a
trend by making large-scale crowd-
sourcing easy, ast and afordable.
Crowdsourcing can help governments
reach and engage their constituents,
manage their eedback and choose
the best ideas at a very low cost.Early public sector eforts ocused
on competitions and challenges, but
today, governments rely on several types
o crowdsourcing.
Competitions and challenges.
App challenges are just one type o
crowd competition, and youll nd
plenty o them on challenge.gov, thedavidkidd
Tappingthewisdoman
talentsofgovernmentsgreatestresource.
ThePowerof Man
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
ederal governments online challenge
platorm. But theres more to crowd
competitions than app challenges.
For example, Boston held a
public challenge because it needed a
computer algorithm to integrate into
StreetBump, an existing app that it had
developed. StreetBump was supposed
to use a phones accelerometer and
GPS technology to accurately identiy
the location and severity o potholes.
When a user drove over a pothole, the
app was designed to automatically
measure and geolocate it and deliver
that inormation to the city. But the
existing app couldnt tell the diference
between potholes, speedbumps and
manhole covers.
Enter crowdsourcing. A prize o
$25,000 enticed developers to create
solutions. Three groups o developers
ended up splitting the prize.48,49
To create the competition, Bostonused an online third-party platorm,
which served as a sort o broker,
to host the challenge. To secure
unding, it partnered with the
private sector to provide the prize
money, a common crowd competi-
tion model in the public sector.
In many cases, i a budget or the
project already exists, it s more cost
efective or an agency to und the
competition itsel than to go through
traditional procurement channels.
Be sure that any crowdsourced
products have a strategy or sustain-
ability. For example, only one o the
47 apps produced or the rst app
challenge in Washington, D.C., is still
being used. Citizen developers usually
have day jobs and may not have the
resources or desire to maintain,
update, service and improve the
app.50 Agencies should have a plan
or sustaining any products result-
ing rom crowdsourcing eforts.
Crowdvoting. The ederal govern-
ment was an early user o crowdvot-
ing, in which an online platorm is
used to solicit ideas on how to solve
a problem. Citizens submit ideas
and other users vote and comment
on their avorites. The most popular
ideas rise above the rest.51 Users
can see who had the most ideas and
whose ideas were the most popular.
The FCC used an online third
party crowdvoting platorm to
solicit citizen eedback on the
National Broadband Plan. The FCC
invited users to give their opinions
on the plan, engage in dialogue with
others about their ideas and vote
on the best suggestions.52 Oakland
County, Mich., uses crowdvoting
to learn about what its citizens like
and dont like about the county.
Their crowdvoting website asks or
opinions, ideas and suggestions to
improve programs and services and
make government more efective.53
Crowdvoting is a useul tool
or measuring and ranking citizen
opinions and brainstorming ideas, but
be wary o promising that the most
popular option will be implemented.
Ater all, the most popular ideas or
Find relatedstory onGovtech.com:www.govtech.com/wireless/
Boston-Testing-App-for-Auto-Detecting-
Potholes.html
THe naTional arcHives
and Records Administrations (NARA)
Citizen Archivist Dashboard provides
constituents with access to photos and
records that NARA doesnt have time
to manage. Amateur archivists can tag
images, including this poster from the
World War II era.
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
technologies are not necessarily the
most successul in the long term.
Finally, as with other social media
tools, dissatised citizens may leave
negative eedback on crowdvoting
platorms. When the White House
set up a crowdvoting platorm or
its Open Government Initiative, by
ar the most popular suggestion was
the legalization o marijuana. The
most discussed suggestion involved
the presidents birth certicate. To
its credit, the White House let these
ideas stand.54 Again, draw the line at
proanity, abuse and hate speech.
Crowdfunding. Crowdunding
taps into the wallets o constituents,
asking them to log in to a social
platorm and make a pledge to und a
project. In the private sector start-
up community, crowdunding has
become a popular way or bootstrap-
pers to reach potential customers
and unders.
The practice is beginning to emerge
in the public sector as well. Phila-
delphia is trialing a crowdunding
platorm that allows citizens to make
pledges to help the city meet specic
goals. The rst project is a tree plant-
ing campaign.55 Kansas City, Mo., has
used crowdsourcing to successully
expand a bike-sharing program andeducate the residents o disadvantaged
neighborhoods about the value o
high-speed Internet. Multiple addi-
tional projects are in the works.56
Crowd labor. Also known as
microwork, crowd labor breaks large
tasks into a series o small tasks that
can be completed by volunteers or in
exchange or small payments. It is
airly new in the public sector, and
is currently being used by a hand-
ul o ederal agencies, including
the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) and the U.S.
Patent and Trade Oce (USPTO).
NARAs Citizen Archivist Dash-
board provides access to photos and
records that NARA doesnt have
the resources to manage. Amateur
archivists can transcribe documents,
tag archived images to acilitate
online searches and help index the
1940 census.57
The USPTO is using crowd labor
to tackle the thorny problem o
overbroad patents. A recent change in
patent law now allows third parties to
examine patents and submit evidence
or comments i a patent is overbroad,
imsy or otherwise invalid. So the
patent oce partnered with Stack Ex-
change, a question and answer orum
or coders, to crowdsource patent
analysis. At patents.stackexchange.
com, users can submit and review
patents that others have submitted.
Participants discuss and debate pat-
ent application validity and ultimately
submit their ndings directly to the
USPTO by clicking a button.58
One caveat o crowd labor: when
employing non-experts and volun-
teers, the potential or accidental
or malicious errors increases.Z
Kansas ity, Mo., has used crowdsourcing to successfullyexpand a bike-sharing program and educate the residentsof disadvantaged neighborhoods about the value ofhigh-speed nternet.
ode for mThe nonprot organiz
hackathons allow citiz
help solve problems p
their communities.
CodeforameriCa/ryanresella
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30
PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPORT
LouisviLLeMayorsoffice
Weve sprinkled best prac-
tices or specic tools
throughout this Special
Report, but here are a ew general
suggestions that will help you make
the most o your mobility- and social
media-driven citizen and business
engagement eforts:
Create an integrated
engagement campaign.
Make sure that all o your engagement
eforts whether theyre old school or
high tech are integrated. The best
eforts, like those o NASA, Somerville,
Mass., and others, are aligned across
multiple engagement channels.
Know your audience.
Every engagement efort has a
potentially diferent audience. Know
who yours is, and make your engage-
ment eforts meaningul to them. For
example, businesses have diferent
concerns than the general public and
diferent income groups have diferent
needs. Understand audience passionsand concerns and create your engage-
ment program accordingly.
Dont be overwhelmed by the tools.
Mobile and social media technologies
have opened the oodgates and now
there are dozens o communication
channels to consider as you develop a
strategy or citizen engagement. Dont
be intimidated by the sheer number o
tools. Depending on size, budget and
stang, you may only be able to use a
ew. Find out where your constituents
are and go there.
Dont forget about records retention.The implications o social citizen
engagement on records retention are
huge. Its a complicated issue make
sure you understand how your jurisdic-
tions records retention policy applies to
specic channels. Consider the ollowing
questions: Are social media postings and
comments considered part o the public
record? What about messages rom
constituents received through a social
media private message service? And how
do you control records retention when a
third party owns the record?
Embrace a new funding model.
One o the best things about engaging
citizens and building online communi-
ties? It can be very inexpensive and
have a high return on investment in the
orm o tangible unding and improved
constituent relationships.
Social media is largely free, and
development platforms, whether
for open data or crowdsourcing,
are cost effective.
The same goes or mobile apps, espe-
cially i crowdsourcing or collaboration
across governments are used. Just as
we dont have to reinvent the wheel, we
dont have to reinvent the app.Its not like buying an enterprise
resource planning (ERP) system, Palo
Altos Reichental reminds us in act,
its the opposite. Open data platorms
are ve gures, not millions o dollars,
Reichental says. The costs are low.
We have to dispel the myth that its
expensive to do this.59Z
GeneralGuidelinesfor
PublicEngagement2.0
[ bt pt ]
uisville, Ky.,
ayor Greg Fischer
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PUBLIC CIOSPECIAL REPO
The research weve seen
suggests that mobility is not
going away. In act, smartphone
penetration is only expected to
increase, and more and more adults
will use their smartphones to go
online. One orecast predicts an
eight-old increase in global mobile
trac between 2012 and 2016.60
Because the number o social
media users is already high, it will
increase more moderately, but there
can be no doubt that social media
is here to stay, too even though
particular social networks and
services may morph, emerge and
recede.61 So it only makes sense that
the public sectors use o these tools
to uel their public engagement
eforts will continue to increase.
Youve seen how integrated
engagement campaigns can speak
to the publics passions, provide
multiple channels or connection and
give them anytime, anywhere access
to services. Advanced government
Web portals rival those in the private
sector or their ability to improve
online service delivery and perorm
sophisticated transactions. Social
networks and crowdsourcing toolsallow citizens to interact with
each other and provide eedback
and even low-cost products and
services to the government.
Mobile apps take away the pain
o getting inormation rom the
government, reporting a problem
or making a suggestion. Open data
leverages an enormous amount o
collected inormation, transparency,
visualization and GIS to empower
citizens to hold their governments
accountable. And the potential o
all o these tools to improve 3-1-1
service and reduce call center costs
is alone a compelling reason or the
public sector to embrace them.
The unprecedented improvements
in communication, interaction and
engagement between the government
and its citizens and businesses
now and into the uture are a
convincing argument or diving
headrst into the world o Citizen
and Business Engagement 2.0.Z
Communicate,InteractandEngage
My Neighorhood Ma,eale.gov:http://web6.seattle.gov/mnm/
[ NL
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The Leader
For 20 years, NIC has helped the public sector modernize
and streamline its operations and connect with the public
using innovative online citizen services. NIC provides eGov-
ernment solutions on an integrated platform that delivers the
solutions citizens and business expect including web and
mobile design, application development, mobile, customer
service, payment processing, and security. With NICs trans-
action-based nancial approach, government leaders are
freed from the demands of locating funding sources and can
instead focus on the core mission of engaging with citizens to
serve the public good.
The Difference
The solutions offered by NIC are as diverse as they are invalu-
able. NIC designs, builds, and manages online eGovernment
portals for 28 states. Beyond portals, NIC has created over
7,100 specic eGovernment services for its state, local, and
federal partners, giving citizens and businesses the basis for
engaging with government easy access to information and
the ability to work with the public sector from anywhere.
NIC is leading the public sector movement to mobile readi-
ness. NIC has already developed more than 1,000 mobile
apps and optimized websites, and the company stands at the
forefront of the government mobility push. Mobile services from
NIC are already helping the public sector provide information,
transaction services, and secure payments from any device at
any time of day, which further increases citizen satisfaction.
NIC is also pioneering the effective use of social media
in government. NIC helps match social media tools with
government needs, focusing on the core mission of each
agency and identifying the social tools best suited to help
carry out that mission.
Using an innovative transaction-based self-funded model
governments can reap the benets of NICs experience
regardless of scal climate. Most efciency fees are applied
to a select number of services to create a sustainable fundin
stream, which allows government to offer best-in-class eGo
ernment solutions without requiring tax appropriations.
The Future
By equipping government with innovative online and
mobile eGovernment solutions while offering nancial ex-
ibility, NIC will continue leading the public sectors efforts
to engage with citizens and businesses for years to come.
Contact NIC today to get started.
For more information
about NIC, go to www.egov.com
or call 877-234-EGOV
Solu
tion
Spo
tligh
t:n
ic
ConnectionsMakingeGovernment solutions from NIC
drive citizen-government engagement
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ADVANCE YOUR PROGRAMS WITH THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE, NETWORK
AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCES.
Start making a difference for your agency.
Visit: verizonwireless.com/government
Verizon technology enables solutions that help state and local governments
remotely observe and manage critical assets, properties and traffic for greater
operational efficiency. Through innovative solutions like Monitoring and Contro
Verizon enhances surveillance to help you keep your citizens safe while minimizing
costs. And its all made possible with the security and reliability of Americas
largest 4G LTE network.
MONITORING & CONTROL
FIELD FORCE MANAGEMENT
MOBILE DEVICES & APPLICATIONS
TRAFFIC SAFETY
MOBILE OFFICE
VERIZON SOLUTIONS FOR GOVERNMENT
4G LTE is available in more than 400 markets in the U. S. Network details & coverage maps at vzw.com. 2012 Verizon Wireless.
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Just a ew years ago citizens used 3 basic channels to
engage with your agency: physical documents, physical
location and a call center. Today, an average citizen can
choose from over 13 different channels to communicate and
engage with your agency: agency website, agency micro-
sites, mobile websites, online forms, chat, Twitter, YouTube,
Facebook, email, traditional mail, physical documents,
physical locations and call centers. In many cases, citizens
will use 2 or more channels to complete a single query, so
consistency and effectiveness of information is important.
But managing content development across all of these chan-
nels is daunting; measuring effectiveness is even harder.
Adobe can help to simplify the entire process with cost-
effective solutions that enable your agency to make, manage
and measure the content, revenue and communication
across all of your citizen-engagement channels. Here are just
a few things Adobe can do:
Raise citizen satisaction. Government agencies are turning
to Adobe solutions to design and deploy rich applications that
shift more interactions to lower cost, self-service portals. When
citizens can nd the information they need through successful
self-service transactions, your agency reduces the need and
expense of multiple in-person interactions and telephone
calls. When real-time communication is required, Adobe can
help your agency facilitate online in-person interviews and
collaboration between agencies, caseworkers, and citizens.
Increase automation and efciency within your agency.
Adobe can also help you manage information and processes
behind the scenes that support citizen engagement. Adobe
solutions can cut down on costly, time-consuming errors
and quicken the pace of agency business. Online applica-
tions can be outtted with barcodes, pre-populated elds,
case numbers and automatic checks to ensure accuracy and
consistency. Automated routing capabilities help ensure infor-
mation gets to the correct destination quickly and easily. All
this adds up to a faster turnaround time for your citizens.
Ensure your engagement hits the mark.Adobe provides
web analytic tools to help agencies measure their perfor-
mance. Track actionable, real-time intelligence about digital
strategies and outreach initiatives, including social, media,
and video communications. Learn what works and pinpoint
areas for improvement; then, make adjustments to create
better engagement.
With these benets and many more, Adobe provides
solutions to help you better engage citizens while improving
behind the scenes processes allowing your agency to carry
out its mission.
Solu
tion
Spo
tligh
t:ad
ob
e
Making, managing, and measuring effective citizen engagement with powerfulAdobe Solutions
Colorado dept. of labor and employment
Like all states, Colorado has been dealing with higher than
normal unemployment for the past several years. Thanks to
solutions from Adobe, however, job-seekers in Colorado are
able to search for work more quickly and conveniently than ev
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE)
uses Adobe solutions to help power its online job and learning
resources portal, e-Colorado.org. Now, Coloradoans looking
work can use e-Colorado.org to access career planning tools,
get help drafting resumes and portfolios, learn about emerging
elds and trends in the job market, research employment lawsand regulations, search for open positions and more. In 2011,
more than 1,000 job-seekers were able to take part in a virtual
job fair thanks to the Adobe solutions powering e-Colorado.or
The solutions also help CDLE professionals provide the best
service possible to the citizens of Colorado.
For more inormation, visit www.adobe.com/governmentor ollow us on Twitter: @Adobegov.
2
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Contact an Oracle representative to get
started today by calling 1.800.ORACLE1
or visiting http://www.oracle.com/us/
industries/public-sector/overview/
index.html
Governments traditional siloed struc-
ture poses difculties or constituents and
civil servants alike. The public fnds it dif-
cult to fnd the inormation and obtain the
services it needs, and government agencies
run up against internal barriers that hamper
productivity and eectiveness. Both sides
can get lost in the impersonal bureaucratic
maze, with predictably rustrating results.
It doesnt have to be this way. The process
o working with, and within, the public
sector can in act be a straightorward and
engaging experience. What it takes are
constituent experience solutions that break
down the silo walls and bring knowledge
and data together to deliver consistent,
connected, relevant and personalized expe-riences across the constituent liecycle.
Oracle can help make it happen. Using
strategic tools and applications, Oracles
comprehensive constituent experience (CX)
oering bridges the constituent-government
divide like never beore. From service solu-
tions supporting personalized, consistent
constituent interactions spanning assisted
service, sel-service, chat, social and
contact center to mobile-ready apps or
incident reporting, business intelligence
analytics, improved online service delivery
and more, Oracle equips the public sector
to serve its constituents better than ever.
Constituents are more satisfed, knowing
that their government is responsive and
has their best interests in mind and civil
servants save time, money and energy
while serving the public interest.
With the tools and expertise to power a
more satisying constituent experience,
Oracles public sector solutions can help
any government entity better engage with
constituents and serve the greater good.
THE COMPLETECONSTITUENTEXPERIENCEOracles Complete
Constituent Experience (C
Suite includes several fea
tures that help governme
and constituents connec
and work better together
improving life for all parti
Oracle CX allows govern
ment agencies to:
Serve the anytime,
anywhere constituent in
seamless, personal wa
across all channels: t
web, in an ofce, over t
phone, via mobile devic
through social media.
Empower todays gove
ments providing
strategic tools andapplications that enabl
personalized interactio
with constituents.
Accelerate delivery of
services to constituent
maximize government
employee time, and
improve operational
efciencies and results
OracleConstituentExperienceEMPOWERING PEOPLE.POWERING GOVERNMENT.
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Government agencies are under increasing pressure to streamline
operations, increase efficiency and cut costs. And citizens are
demanding an increased sense of responsibility and better service from
their government. The Internet and the proliferation of mobile devices
have raised expectations of how the public sector should operate.
Solutions from Kofax can help government perform at the level citizens
expect, despite the challenges of the current fiscal climate and a vast
amount of information that is growing by 50 percent each year.
Kofax provides agencies with the capability to securely automate
the capture, processing and archiving of information from a
wide variety of sources for:
Greater Efficiency.Information, both paper and electronic, can be
automatically captured and routed to the correct people, applications,
processes or repositories. The improved workflows help the public
sector respond to citizen requests and process information more
quickly.
Lower Costs. Thanks to automation and resulting increases in
efficiency, agencies spend significantly less money on processing costs
for manual data entry, document searching, paper and shipping.
Better Service. Agencies can provide citizens with faster, more
efficient service than ever before. For example, the Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services uses secure automated
capture to process up to 450,000 documents per month for disability,
food, healthcare and other programs.
Visit http://go.kofax.com/CitizenBenefitsto learn more.
Greater Efficiency.
Better Service.Citizen Benefit Processing and Case Management from Kofax
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Are You Reaching YourCitizens Effectively?
Accela, Inc.
Global Headquarters:
2633 Camino Ramon, Suite 120
San Ramon, CA 94583
(888) 7-ACCELA
Follow us:
@accelasoftware
facebook.com/accelasoftware
Solu
tion
Spo
tligh
t:AccelA
Go where the people are.Key to driving civic engagement in our communities is
providing government services on the mobile devices that
citizens already use. The Citizen-as-Consumer has spoken
loud and clear. They are buying smartphones and tablets of
all shapes, sizes, and mobile platforms for both work and
play, and they are ready to do more with them. Government
wants to respond, but developing and supporting apps for all
devices poses challenges for resource-strapped agencies.
Accela helps you rapidly execute your app strategy.The convergence of mobile devices, app stores, and cloud
computing enables the deployment of a suite of apps to your
community faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.
Accela is leading the way with a track record of innovations
for citizen and business engagement:
A Cloud Infrastructure that Supports App Deployment
Accela Automation is an enterprise software solution that
improves government processes in land and asset manage-
ment, permitting, licensing, code enforcement and more. Our
powerful workow engine integrates seamlessly with apps,
allowing agencies to push content out to apps and manage
inbound requests, transactions, and other information.
The Accela App Server syncs data, improves performance,
increases scalability, and provides tools to manage your
app deployments.
Subscription Pricing lets agencies of all sizes get up and
running quickly with the exact number of licenses they need.
Mobility Products for Greater Government Productivity
Accela Mobile Ofce extends processing capabilities to the
eld for inspections, work orders, service requests and more
on PCs and tablets. Role-based apps provide the tools needed for a variety of
duties. They include Accela Inspector, Accela Code Ofcer,
Accela Work Crew, and Accela Analytics.
Apps for Increased Civic Engagement
Our Commitment to Apps on Leading Platforms means
we support apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone on
both smartphones and tablets.
Service Request Apps such as Accela 311 let citizens
submit service requests in a snap from their smartphones
and tablets. All they do is choose the request type, add a
quick comment, take a photo, and theyre done!
The Mobile SDK and APIs help developers build an innite
variety of apps on top of Accelas open architecture. The
software devel