Agencies receive a variety of questions, problems, and requests to be managed daily via emails and phone calls. There are solutions available to help streamline those processes, one is called the Citizen Problem Reporter.
What is the Citizen Problem Reporter?
To your community the solution is…
A location-enabled solution that is accessible 24/7 to report non-emergency problems (blights, potholes, etc.) without the hassle of finding the right agency to contact via phone or email.
To your agency the solution is…
Designed to make the process of managing a reported problem smooth. Agencies can review, respond, send surveys, and receive feedback for reported problems with this one solution. Additionally, the solution can be extended by integrating current management systems to track the full lifecycle of the reports from your community.
What kinds of benefits does this solution provide?
Planning departments, public works agencies, utilities, and other local government organizations will find that there are four main benefits to this solution, including:
Reduces Long-term Asset Maintenance
With 24/7 access to the Citizen Problem Reporter, your agency is likely to receive reports sooner and address them more quickly. This ultimately will reduce long-term asset maintenance, but will also improve your community’s quality of life as problems are addressed.
Increases Location Reliability
Instead of an explanation of where non-emergency problems are located, your community will be able to report the problem as they see it with their location-enabled smartphones. The geospatial capability of this solution will allow your staff to find reported problems more efficiently than before.
Less Calls and Emails/More Transparency
By providing a readily accessible and intuitive solution to report non-emergency problems, your community will be able to see if the problem they would like to report is already being processed and what the status is. This way, instead of a duplicate report, they can up-vote or “like” the report to indicate they too would like that problem resolved. This ability to see the status of a reported problem will lessen the need for calls/emails and increase transparency between your agency and community.
Allows for Data-driven Decisions
Built-in reporting capabilities will provide for a more in-depth assessment of problem statuses, categories, types of problems, number of reports by month, and total number of reports available. You can also track the quality of solved reports and will be able to determine if certain areas need improvement.