Participating in the April 25, 2013 Esri-ICMA white boarding exercise related to web applications for local government was indeed time well spent.  I personally got a bit of a head start by meeting with Esri Account Executive Mike Martinez in Sacramento, CA. prior to heading to Esri’s headquarters in Redlands, CA.  With our mini-white boarding exercise, I began the process of moving outside of the current reality and constraints of local government in Yolo County, CA and into the world of “what if”.  By the time I landed in Redlands, I was prepared to think of a broader array of web applications that could benefit local government, despite limited resources and other constraints.

The most useful part of the exercise for me was grappling with desired characteristics in web applications.  This highlighted issues related to managing the exchange of information in the areas of: integrating with existing tools, i.e. databases, work order systems, etc.; managing expectations of our residents; and the ability to share or redirect information across jurisdictions.  In this process, I learned there were already a lot of duplicative web apps available and that universal web apps would be useful for services provided by all local government.

It was also extremely useful, as far as opening my mind to the possibilities, to review the emerging trends in citizen engagement.  The commonly referred to web app for local government is for reporting potholes.  I never would have imagined there could be sensory web apps that passively collect information related to road conditions or broadband strength.

For these reasons, it was worthwhile to fly to Redlands and spend some time with other local leaders and Esri thinking about where best to direct resources for web app development.  The agenda for the day was well constructed with enough, but not too much presentation at the start, followed by productive conversation and break-out exercises.  Ultimately, it was fascinating to see the web app categories that rose to the top by the end of the day.  Many highlighted the limited resources that we have in local government to provide programs and services despite our desire to continue providing the same level of service as in the past, and the public expectation that we do.  I left the exercise with a number of new mantras.  With the limited resources in mind, I left that day with the mantra “we can no longer use the vending machine model; but instead must now promote the barn-raising model” for the provision of services, ultimately to help our residents help themselves.

The other mantra that stuck with me and stuck with our County Administrator when I reported back was “online vs. in line.”  In fact, he tweeted that mantra just the other day.  With an increasingly virtual world, we need to join the 21^st century and provide our residents more opportunity to conduct business and communicate with us virtually.  A majority of services we provide should be available both at our public desks but also on the Internet so we can reduce the number standing in line and increase the number of satisfied customers.  Hopefully this white boarding exercise results in that opportunity.

Along these lines, the exercise should not stop here.  It should be a continued conversation and an ever building conversation.  I hope there is opportunity to meet again and grapple with these issues, and to include more in the process as time goes on, including the residents that we serve.

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the conversation.

Stay connected with this initiative by subscribing to this blog and bookmarking the #LocalGov Technology Alliance resource page today!