Accela Mobile 311 differs from most civic-engagement apps, which often mimic traditional e-mail or telephone methods for submitting service requests. By connecting directly to a government's Accela Automation system, the app appropriately routes request information to help government departments efficiently receive, prioritize and assign incoming requests.
"Any truly effective mobile app for civic engagement must recognize the realities facing increasingly resource-strapped local governments," said Maury Blackman, President and CEO of Accela. "Submitting complaints about broken stoplights provides little value if a department isn't equipped to respond effectively. The technology behind Accela Mobile 311 bridges that gap by addressing the public's desire for more direct access to government services, while giving government teams the tools to perform at their best."
Salt Lake City 311
Salt Lake City is the first municipal government to have deployed Accela Mobile 311 in order to deliver its own branded app,
Salt Lake City 311™. Launched today, Salt Lake City 311 currently enables the public to request weed abatement, report inoperable vehicles, construction without permits, and illegal signs for addresses within the limits of Salt Lake City. Support for additional types of service requests is planned. The app is available for free download from Apple's App Store. [See Salt Lake City's related media advisory at
www.slcgov.com/slc311.]
"As we continue to look for ways to do more with less, utilizing the latest technology has to offer must be a part of our overall strategy," said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. "The Accela Mobile 311 app gives residents a new, fast and easy way to bring issues to our attention, while integrating with a system that has a proven track record of efficiency and cost savings."
Accela's End-to-End Solution Benefits Workers and Public
Accela Mobile 311 engages citizens on a range of issues that involve their local government, including service or information requests, code enforcement, reporting on the condition of community infrastructure, and more. As an extension of Accela Automation software -- which is used by hundreds of local, regional and state government agencies across the United States and overseas to deliver more citizen-centric, performance-based government -- Accela Mobile 311 provides an end-to-end solution ensuring consistent and accurate information from submittal by the public to closure by agency staff. This approach not only helps departments to prioritize requests, but also to schedule and dispatch staff through GPS-enabled mobile devices connected to the Accela Automation system.
Incorporating Esri's ArcGIS map engine, Accela Mobile 311 leverages the collaborative benefits of GIS (geographic information systems) to maximize efficiency and ease of use for all parties. The app's geolocation capability provides an exact address match, automatically detecting the physical location of the citizen's device and using color-coded push pins on the screen to indicate the spot where an incident has occurred or service is needed. If necessary, the pin can be moved to a more precise location. Agency maps residing in Accela Automation also provide property and community infrastructure information and help identify duplicate requests by showing if an incident has been previously reported at the same location.
In addition, Accela Mobile 311 leverages a "crowdsourcing" model to further aid the agency in prioritization and resource allocation. As requests are received, agencies can easily identify incidents receiving the highest volume of citizen submittals and deploy repair crews accordingly.
Using their iPhone or iPad camera, citizens can also submit a new or existing photo with their service request. The incident address can be edited, comments added, and contact information entered. The record ID and initial status are displayed for successful submittals, a push pin with the location of the record is added to the map, and the record is added to the record history list and updated with current status by the agency. Users can also receive status updates indicating when their request has been addressed.
Availability
Accela Mobile 311 is currently available for iPhone and iPad, with planned support for Android and other mobile operating systems. Further details can be found at
www.accela.com/mobile-311, or by contacting Accela Support at
http://myaccela.com/forms/contact.
About Accela
Accela, Inc. is the leading provider of web- and cloud-based software applications that facilitate e-government processes for local, state, and federal government agencies of all sizes. Serving more than 500 agencies worldwide, Accela solutions manage more types of regulatory government transactions than any other solution. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., with international offices in Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Additional information is available at
www.accela.com.
Accela and Accela Automation are registered trademarks of Accela, Inc. Accela Mobile 311 is a trademark of Accela, Inc. Other names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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CONTACT: Paul Davis Accela, Inc. 925-659-3270 Email Contact
