After I posted about John Geraci's Four Pillars I was made aware of this post:

http://goodspeedupdate.com/2009/2625

From the article,

"There seems to be something intrinsic about Internet technology that makes it particularly well suited for local initiatives, perhaps due to some of the factors I discuss here. Second, it raises the issue of to what extent government should attempt to create new technology. There actually already is a website that does more or less what the Harvard folks describe that I’ve been meaning to write about — SeeClickFix. In fact, here’s some potholes, broken streetlights, and other problems already reported on this private website:

Some have argued the government should focus on data sources nearly exclusively, but I’m more of a moderate on the issue. After all, the private sector may not develop technology that suits the unique characteristics of government. Lastly, this local suggestion implies the subtle ways the Obama Administration’s innovation in transparency, participation, and online engagement could trickle down to state and local government."


From SeeClickFix's perspective the system that everyone ultimately ends up to interact with their government and others about the public space should be both citizen and government friendly. SeeClickFix is working with cities like Houston to make sure that the tool is useful to governments as well as citizens.

One thing we have started to notice is that when government officials start to use the tools themselves they are really looking for a simple data entry platform that is similar to what the citizen needs to be encouraged to participate.

We've also noticed that exposing issues to the public minimizes duplication of service requests as well as creates a good way for governments to weigh the public demand for the fix.

If you're a gov. official what would make it easier for you to resolve citizen complaints?