WRITTEN ON February 9th, 2005 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Uncategorized

Here’s another Wibbi for our international debate…received by email courtesy of Bob in Oz about US developments also under way in Canberra (see below). Wasn’t there talk of something like this here? Fellow idealists – help me.

Dial 311 for better government service

According to a recent (ok, it was last November – we’re a long way by snail mail, ok!) It was implemented in 2002, with the intention of consolidating the various call centres of its public works and service agencies, and increasing accountability for the resolution of problems reported by citizens. Here are the facts and figures:
· consolidated 40 separate centres, and 14 pages of contact telephone numbers into one location and phone number
· the centre is 45,000 square feet
· project cost $25 million
· the 311 centre is staffed by 200 operators, who have language translation service available
· the centre handles up to 15,000 calls a day, or 8 million calls a year
· performance goal: answer 80% of calls within 5 seconds
· 6,000 items of information stored in an on-line database for call centre operators to access
· uses Siebel’s software for call centre management, Genesys Telecommunications software for telephone call handling, Interwoven software for content management, and a Nortel PBX.
· calls are handled by operators in “tiers”– first-level operators handle general questions, and if the caller needs more help, the call is handed off to a specialist operator, who may enter a call-for-service for a specific agency.
· All calls are tracked, and they can be analysed by time-of-day, agency and other criteria to help spot trends
· If a call results in an incident entry, the caller is given a tracking number for their call, and are told they can call back later for a disposition, which is entered by the handling agency.
· The police department’s 122 precincts are linked to the 311 system so they can monitor so-called “quality of life” incidents, and which might be handled by another agency, but have a criminal connection.

Civic Strategies describes a four phase strategy in the deployment of 311 services:

“Cities started using the number years ago to spare their 911 police and fire dispatchers from non-emergency calls — the cat’s-in-the-tree, my-neighbour’s-too-noisy complaints. Then cities expanded it to become a customer-friendly gateway to city agencies, eliminating the need to flip through the phone book for the number of the marriage license bureau or neighbourhood senior centre. In its third iteration, 311 systems became management tools as governments realized that complaint calls could be tracked. That is, using computer logs, you could measure how long it took to fill a pothole from the time it was called in until the asphalt was tamped down and therefore tell how well individual agencies were performing. Now, we may be reaching a fourth stage with 311, as it becomes a conduit to city life. New York has announced it will link its 311 system to a database maintained by the tourism and convention bureau to tell callers which Broadway shows are sold out, where in their neighbourhood they can get a late-night supper, which outdoor concerts have been rained out and the subway stop that’s closest to the excursion boats for Liberty Island.”

Of course, there is always the old ‘be careful what you ask for’ risk, as trying to do too much results is clutter and system failure:

“some critics say 311 shouldn’t be taking on any new missions. “311 is supposed to be a government service, and in our city, that’s expansive,” one city council member said. “But I don’t think that means restaurant deals, tourism and boat rides on the Circle Line.” Others disagree, including some government watchdog groups that see it as a natural expansion of city services. Said an official with one of these organizations, “I think it’s the role of government to make the city a welcoming place. It helps spark the economy, and it’s a service that people want. And it provides benefits to residents as well.”

It would be good to hear some on-the-ground experiences and opinions about this US service, especially on tracking action.

My own city has a similar service, comprising both a call centre and website. I must admit I have used it relatively infrequently, but did score some success last year when I used it to “dob in” a neighbour who decided he could run a car wrecking business from his back and front yards! And it does at least consolidate most payments.

Ideally, these types of local government initiatives need to be supported by a passionate and effective local media, who report on progress (or lack thereof) in fixing problems. A good example of this is the San Francisco Examiner, whose Chroniclewatch column reports dispassionately on potholes, platforms and parks, and tracks – relentlessly – what has happened and what has not and, most importantly, who is responsible! I can see a new calling for Michael Winner.