DEPARTMENT: 311 Customer Service Office
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Paula Stallcup, Sr. Manager, 311 Customer Service
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
Presentation of new 311SA Mobile Application
SUMMARY:
New 311SA Mobile App was developed by a local start up, Cityflag, Inc., and is free and available for download at the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In May 2018, the City of San Antonio implemented a soft launch of the new 311SA Mobile App developed by Cityflag, LLC, a local startup company and member of Geekdom. The City awarded this contract for the development and deployment of a new 311 mobile application and was part of the Smart Cities Initiatives program.
The new 311SA mobile application is fully integrated with the City’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and supports the submittal of 53 different services from the Animal Care Services Department, Development Services Code Enforcement, Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste Management and Transportation & Capital Improvements departments. These requests are submitted directly to the department from the mobile app.
The City’s 311 Customer Service Office, Information Technology Services Department and Innovations Office work with Cityflag closely to develop an innovative and engaging mobile application. The main components of the 311SA Mobile App include:
Þ Ability to advise the City of various City concerns that need to be addressed, such as stray animals, potholes, graffiti, overgrown yards, etc.
Þ Manage your requests through your profile which tracks service requests and their status (open, due date, closed)
Þ Social media-like engagement through the Urban Feed where you can follow other users and be advised of their requests submitted as well as those submitted through other channels (calling 311 or using 311 website)
Þ Gamification elements where a user received points and badges for submitting requests, as well as voting and sharing requests on Facebook and/or Twitter
Þ Interactive map view which allows a user to view service requests throughout the city
The new 311SA Mobile App is an exciting tool which provides residents of San Antonio with an alternative method to engage with the City of San Antonio. The 311 Call Center continues to be available seven days a week; however, with the 311SA Mobile App, residents can engage with the City on a 24/7 basis.
The 311SA Mobile App was publicly launched on August 15, 2018 with a great response received to date. Cityflag will continue the maintenance and support of the mobile application working with 311 Customer Service and Information Technology Services departments. Updates and enhancements are expected on a regular basis.
To date, there have been 2,141 downloads of the new 311SA Mobile App with 1,382 active users on both Android and iOS. Since the soft launch, there have been 1,031 service requests submitted through the mobile app, with pothole repair as the most popular service request.
ISSUE:
The City of San Antonio and Cityflag, LLC developed an innovative mobile application for enhanced citizen engagement. This partnership is an example of how the City San Antonio is working to develop and support local startup companies through the CivTechSA Program which seeks to connect and develop our student, entrepreneur and tech communities while tackling City challenges. Goals of the CivTechSA program are to expand the City’s capacity for innovation; develop customized technology solutions to community challenges; create a tech talent pipeline that fuels startup ecosystem growth; and develop civically-minded business leaders.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.