The Esri-ICMA #LocalGov Technology Alliance held the first in a series of activities on Thursday, April 25, 2013 on the Esri Campus in Redlands, California. Twelve ICMA members from around the country discussed the kinds of apps that would help their organizations better serve their communities as well as those that would help them do their own jobs. Participants represented local governments ranging in size from Lake Isabella, Michigan (Population - 1,681 in 2010) to Montgomery County, Maryland (Population - 989,794 in 2011).
Table 1 – Participating ICMA Members
| FIRST | LAST | LOCAL GOVERNMENT | STATE | POPULATION |
| Tanya | Ange | City of Mankato | MN | 40,119 |
| Sylvia | Carrillo | City of Aransas Pass | TX | 8,282 |
| Beth | Gabor | Yolo County | CA | 202,054 |
| Fairba | Kassiri | Montgomery County | MD | 989,794 |
| Robert | Kiely | City of Lake Forest | IL | 19,349 |
| Alex | McIntyre | City of Menlo Park | CA | 32,881 |
| Rick | Otto | City of Orange | CA | 139,419 |
| Craig | Owens | City of Clayton | MO | 15,910 |
| Gary | Palmer | Town of Farragut | TN | 21,126 |
| Andy | Pederson | Village of Bayside | WI | 4,411 |
| Lori | Sassoon | City of Rancho Cucamonga | CA | 170,746 |
| Tim | Wolff | Village of Lake Isabella | MI | 1,681 |
The group began by defining what the characteristics of a good app should be. For example, apps that address a gap in local government services or automate paper processes, thereby increasing efficiency. The ability to provide two-way communication with citizens was another key characteristic. The group also indicated they want apps that are easy to maintain and can be administered without taking much staff time.
From there, the group opted to consider the type of apps local governments need by using seven basic categories:
- Public Reporting
- Public Information Sharing
- Citizens as Scientists
- Citizens as Sensors
- Citizens as Volunteers
- Public Input/Solicited Input
- Unsolicited Comments
Small teams of two to three people volunteered to brainstorm on the types of apps that would be desirable under each of seven categories. The results of this brainstorming exercise were impressive. Taken together, the small teams developed a list of between 150-200 potential apps that would be useful for local government work. From there, the full group began to narrow down the list down to the top priorities. The top priorities for local government apps were:
- Volunteers/Donations
- Mining Social Media
- Citizen Dashboards and Tracking
- Employees/Employer Matching for the Community/Region
- Advertising and Promoting the Community/Region
The group then defined the requirements for each of the top five priority apps, specifically looking at the following criteria:
- App “user”
- Information to be collected
- Information to be provided
- Scenario for use
Using the ideas and feedback generated by the group, Esri will be working with their solutions teams, business partners, and start-ups in order to develop these apps for the ability to implement in any community. And the complete list of app ideas will help drive the first ever hackathon, Hackstock for #LocalGov, at fall’s 2013 ICMA Annual Conference in Boston. On Sunday, September 22 from 7:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Hynes Convention Center, Esri and ICMA will invite start-ups and developers to work on developing prototypes for new apps that can be picked up and used by local governments for their work. New apps and prototypes for new apps will be shared with conference participants in Boston.
