Citizen Engagement – The Wedding is On

I have to admit, when I started working for Cartegraph earlier this year, I hadn’t spent too much time thinking about local government or how it impacts my life. I will also admit that when I was first presented with our Citizen Request application, YourGOV, I was a little confused.

I was new to the business at the time, and I was being told that people were actually going to take time out of their day to report problems in their neighborhood.  And, on top of that, I was led to believe that local governments would happily and eagerly receive these reports and respond to them.

What?! 

OK another confession: I am not the most civic minded person I know.  With a 1 year-old, a pregnant wife, a dog, a cat, a home, a lawn…let’s just say that, typically, I’m not exactly left with a lot of time to “engage.”

Nonetheless, I installed the YourGOV iPhone app.  And since I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone, YourGOV was, and is, in my pocket at all times.  I can’t say I made heavy use of the app at first, but I did fiddle with it every now and again, getting to know its features and capabilities. 

Then, one day it hit me — with this app, I do have time to be more engaged and active in my community. 

The fact that the device in my pocket would let me submit an issue in less than a minute was the key, as the prospect of calling the city, getting routed to the right department, leaving a message, and so on, was never an appealing option for me. 

Had YourGOV failed to deliver a more efficient way for me to submit my issue, I would have lost interest at step one. But that wasn’t the case.  Now, armed with this powerful “tool of engagement,” I find myself constantly on the lookout for things to report.

The other side of this coin is, of course, the right people getting the requests.

I would be lying if I said I’ve never talked to a government employee who feared being overrun with requests.  But rest assured, these sheepish individuals are absolutely outnumbered by organizations trying to figure out the best way to reach out and take advantage of the mass of civic minded individuals — like the newly converted me — that can be the extra eyes they need in the community, spotting issues before the mayor’s telephone lights up.

So the other day, I confess, I engaged.  And it worked.  And it felt pretty good, too.

I’m sure my newfound, more intimate relationship with the city will have its ups and downs.  But I think we can make it through with our renewed commitment to each other.