gov tech - citizen engagement special

7/29/2019 Gov Tech - Citizen Engagement Special

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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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2

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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6


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



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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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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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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


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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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


change by us Philly leverages the

power of rowdsoring.


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14


[ Sl Md ]

an

gettyimages/JoeRaedel

ory BookerThe Newark, N.J., mayors useof socia meia to connect with

resients is egenary.


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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


16/40

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


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2011

D wi o gag pbli

25%2009

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>87%2011

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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

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atest Mars mission

wiy vira in Summ

Source: University of Illinois Chicago study, as reported by ScienceDaily


17/40


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.


18/40

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


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.


19/40

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

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69%thn sc med hs the

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o 100 STaTe an localgovernMenT leaerSSurvee b The cenTeror igiTal governMenT:


20/40

20


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 ]


21/40


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.


22/40

[ 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


2012 vergreen Apps

Challenge Winners

flickr/evergreenA

pps


23/40

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


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


24/40

24


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 ]


25/40


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


26/40

26


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 ]


27/40


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


28/40

28


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.


29/40


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


30/40

30


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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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


32/40

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.


34/40

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.

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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.


36/40

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


37/40

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

gov tech - citizen engagement special

Documents