Wednesday, June 19, 2013 - By Anonymous - No comments
City of Boston and SeeClickFix Announce the Official Launch of Commonwealth Connect App
PATRICK ADMINISTRATION AND CITY OF BOSTON
ANNOUNCE 54 MUNICIPALITIES PARTICIPATING IN COMMONWEALTH CONNECT APP
Commonwealth Connect Empowers Residents &
Municipal Staff
BOSTON
– Tuesday, June 18, 2013 – Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor
today joined officials from the City of Boston and local officials from
participating municipalities to formally launch the Commonwealth Connect app
used by 54 cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
The
smart phone application is based on the Citizens Connect app developed for use
by the City of Boston and allows residents to report quality of life problems,
such as graffiti and potholes, in real time directly to their local government
for resolution.
“The
Patrick Administration is committed to providing communities with tools and
resources to improve the delivery of services our citizens want,” said
Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor. “Commonwealth Connect is
just one more example of how we are creating innovative ways to empower the
people of Massachusetts to build stronger and safer communities."
Since
its early release in some communities in January 2013, over four thousand
service requests have been submitted from 40 different participating cities and
towns, over 1,300 issues have been reported by residents via the mobile app,
and nearly 3,400 service requests have been completed. Already, over 2,400
people have downloaded the mobile app, which works on both iPhones and Android
phones.
“Commonwealth
Connect makes it even easier for residents and government to partner on
creating great neighborhoods,” said Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “I am
appreciative of the Commonwealth’s leadership and support on this project,
scaling an approach that’s working well in Boston to municipalities across the
State.”
Commonwealth
Connect is made possible by a Community Innovation Challenge (CIC) Grant
provided by the Patrick Administration awarded to the City of Boston. Launched
in the FY12 budget and administered by the Executive Office for Administration
and Finance, the CIC Grant program invests in innovations that have the
potential to lower costs and improve critical services through regionalization,
new uses of technology, and improved management practices.
To
use Commonwealth Connect, residents with smart phones download the app, snap a
photo of a problem and submit it to their local government. The residents get a
tracking number for their case and can see when their issue is resolved.
Nearly half of the municipalities also use Commonwealth Connect as a feature on
their website, making it easy for residents to report issues on-line as well.
“Commonwealth
Connect has been a transformational tool in the way we interact with our
residents in Malden,” said Mayor of Malden Gary Christenson. “Since our launch
in March, we have seen nearly 3,000 requests submitted and I could not be more
pleased with the positive affect it has had on quality of life issues that are
very important to our residents.”
"Northampton
residents quickly embraced this expanded citizen engagement tool," said
Mayor of Northampton David Narkewicz. "The City of Northampton now is
working towards integration of Commonwealth Connect with our work order
management system, called VueWorks. 670 issues from Northampton residents have
been submitted since the soft launch in January."
Commonwealth
Connect was developed in partnership between the City of Boston and its vendor
SeeClickFix. Based in New Haven, CT, SeeClickFix is one of the pioneers of apps
and services that allow residents to act on issues they see in their
neighborhoods.
Participating
municipalities using the expanded application include Ayer, Barnstable,
Bedford, Boston, Braintree, Brookfield, Chicopee, Chilmark, Clarksburg,
Eastham, Easton, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Halifax,
Haverhill, Holliston, Hopkinton, Lexington, Malden, Medway, Melrose,
Middleborough, Nantucket, Needham, New Bedford, Newton, North Adams, North
Andover, Northampton, Orange, Randolph, Revere, Royalston, Seekonk, Somerville,
Sudbury, Taunton, Wakefield, Ware, Watertown, West Boylston, Westborough,
Whitman, Woburn, and Worcester.
In
addition, Commonwealth Connect is integrated with the systems of eight
additional communities, bringing the total number of communities connected up
to 54. Those communities include Andover, Boston, Chelsea, Lowell, Quincy,
Saugus, Swampscott and Worcester.
About
the CIC Grant Program
In
the FY12 budget, Governor Patrick proposed the development of the CIC grant
program to encourage and incentivize regionalization and other innovative
efficiency initiatives. The CIC grant program was supported by the Legislature,
providing $4 million for regionalization and other initiatives that will
improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of local services. An additional $2.25 million
in funding for the program was provided in the FY13 budget.
About
Mayor Menino’s Office of New Urban Mechanics
Commonwealth
Connect is a project of the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics: Mayor
Menino’s Office of New Urban Mechanics focuses on piloting transformative
services that leverage civic engagement and new technology.
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