{"id":25161,"date":"2017-11-15T19:18:57","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T00:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/just-in-time-pothole-repair\/"},"modified":"2017-11-15T19:19:47","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T00:19:47","slug":"just-in-time-pothole-repair","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/just-in-time-pothole-repair\/","title":{"rendered":"Just-In-Time\u2026. Pothole Repair?!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Digitally-savvy voters are demanding faster, more transparent delivery of services than government provides [1]. Cities like Philadelphia (\u201cPhilly\u201d) are trying to close this gap by adopting systems like \u201c311,\u201d a centralized digital platform that allows residents to submit requests \u2013 via mobile app, web browser, or phone \u2013 for everything from pothole repairs to graffiti removal [2]. Previously, residents with a reportable issue had to find the relevant government department, find a phone number, contact them with the problem, and hope it was resolved. There was little accountability, follow-up, or transparency. With 311, all<\/em> problems can be submitted and tracked via a single platform in a matter of minutes. Further, 311 is just the tip of the iceberg: other digital tools are allowing cities to compress lead times and get products\/services to people faster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What\u2019s not to love?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While digitalization is great for consumers, it poses significant challenges to policymakers by both increasing demand for services and increasing transparency around their delivery, thereby highlighting any poor performance (figure 1). Indeed, providing customers more products\/services with lower defect rates at a faster pace (as 311 facilitates) is hard enough for private sector companies to implement \u2013 and they can at least profit from it by charging customers more. It\u2019s more complicated for the public sector.<\/p>\n

Philly faced major backlogs in its first year of 311: the city did not perform ~25% of requests in a timely manner (if at all). In addition, 33% of residents who requested a service reported being dissatisfied with the city\u2019s response [3]. 311\u2019s data collection and reporting functionality made it easier to hold the city accountable compared to years prior when no similar data was collected.<\/p>\n

The implementation of digital tools like 311 also requires significant internal readjustment within City Hall. Departments that previously relied on distinct inbound call systems to service one-off resident needs must align their IT and organizational structures to receive orders from 311 and quickly fix reported problems. Since 311 is constantly changing, departments have to keep up. Of particular concern is the increasing volume of resident requests: recently Philly used a human-centered design approach to revamp 311\u2019s interface leading to a 50% increase in submissions [4].<\/p>\n

Further, digital systems like 311 aren\u2019t free: Philly\u2019s Office of Innovation and Technology\u2019s budget is $84 million, a 26% increase since FY16 [5].<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

[Figure 1] Increased accountability: Philly\u2019s 311 system allows residents to see the status of all requests submitted around the city, making public any failure to address concerns in a timely manner | Source: Philly 311 website<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

City of digital love<\/strong><\/p>\n

Philly recently announced a $120 million IT investment to improve on its current suite of digital tools to better fulfill promises of improved constituent services. The money is being used to digitize processes that rely on cumbersome systems with long order processing and delivery lead times. For example, it is digitizing License & Inspection services by allowing businesses to schedule inspections, apply for permits, and register for licenses online \u2013 services previously requested in-person [6-7]. Meanwhile, digital investments for Fleet Management allow it to lower inventory and maintenance costs [8]. Part of the investment has also gone to migrating 311\u2019s backend to Salesforce. That will allow the city to better track, crunch, and share data [9]. Down the line, the city wants to move 311 to a predictive model to be able to foresee and preemptively address constituent needs [10-11].<\/p>\n

To fund these and other investments, the city is also raising revenue in a variety of ways (better tracking tax delinquency, creating\/raising new taxes, etc.). The hope is that these investments in digital technology pay off in improved \u2013 rather than diminished \u2013 perceptions of government efficiency.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Digital Over-Dose<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to get over-excited about the new digital frontier and invest in systems without fully thinking through if they can be successfully integrated with existing platforms. That\u2019s part of why the city has spent over $100 million since 2007 on failed digital systems including ones related to real estate appraisal, water billing, and aspects of 311 [12].<\/p>\n

I urge Philly to focus on a limited number of short-term, high return digital investments like 311. Relying on longer-term contracts reduces the government\u2019s accountability given the 4-8 year changeover in administrations; meanwhile, trying to implement too many new systems could lead to poor execution and bad publicity.<\/p>\n

Further, the government should be willing to change payscales to invest in more technical talent. That includes recruiting more heavily from civic tech groups like Code for America and even poaching from the private sector. Having more digital-savvy employees will mean smarter acquisition and implementation of digital investments.<\/p>\n

Philly should also focus on adopting best practices from other cities rather than trailblaze itself. This will reduce costs and improve likelihoods of success. For example, Boston is unveiling machine learning-based 311 that will make it easier to report problems [13]. Once it\u2019s successfully implemented, Philly could use the same contractor.<\/p>\n

Questions remain. Are under-resourced city governments truly capable of implementing technically-complex digital systems at a reasonable price? How does politics help or hurt these efforts? Time will tell.<\/p>\n

[Word count (excluding references and photo descriptor): 796]<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] \u201cThe Digital Government Divide: Research Shows Citizens Want More – Accenture,\u201d accessed November 12, 2017, https:\/\/www.accenture.com\/us-en\/insight-digital-government-divide-research-shows-citizens-want-more.<\/p>\n

[2] \u201cCity of Philadelphia: Submit a Request,\u201d accessed November 12, 2017, http:\/\/www.phila.gov\/311\/form\/Pages\/default.aspx. Note: check out this website to see full list of services the City provides via 311<\/p>\n

[3] \u201cA Work In Progress: Philadelphia\u2019s 311 System After One Year\u201d (March 2010). Pew Charitable Trusts. http:\/\/www.pewtrusts.org\/~\/media\/assets\/2010\/03\/02\/final-311-report-030210.pdf<\/p>\n

[4] \u201cPhilly 311 Gets a Makeover\u201d (March 2016). Derek Major. GCN, accessed November 12, 2017, https:\/\/gcn.com\/articles\/2016\/03\/18\/philly-311.aspx.<\/p>\n

[5] \u201cThe Mayor\u2019s Operating Budget In Brief for Fiscal Year 2018\u201d (June 2017). http:\/\/www.phila.gov\/finance\/pdfs\/Operating%20Budget\/FY18%20BudgetinBrief_Adopted.pdf<\/p>\n

[6] \u201cOverview of eCLIPSE\u201d (Department of Licenses and Inspections) http:\/\/www.phila.gov\/li\/instructeclipse\/pages\/default.aspx<\/p>\n

[7] Juliana Reyes, \u201cNo More Paper Permits: City of Philadelphia Is Spending $4.5M to Upgrade L&I,\u201d Technical.ly Philly, January 29, 2014, https:\/\/technical.ly\/philly\/2014\/01\/29\/city-philadelphia-licenses-inspections-tech-upgrades\/.<\/p>\n

[8] \u201cCity of Philadelphia Selects AssetWorks Fleet Management Software,\u201d accessed November 12, 2017, http:\/\/dmnnewswire.digitalmedianet.com\/article\/City-of-Philadelphia-Selects-AssetWorks-Fleet-Management-Software-3280405.<\/p>\n

[9] Juliana Reyes, \u201cSalesforce to Build City of Philadelphia\u2019s New 311 System,\u201d Technical.ly Philly, August 5, 2013, https:\/\/technical.ly\/philly\/2013\/08\/05\/salesforce-city-of-philadelphia-311\/.<\/p>\n

[10] Juliana Reyes, \u201cCity of Philadelphia Is Spending $120M to Upgrade IT: Status Report,\u201d Technical.ly Philly, March 4, 2014, https:\/\/technical.ly\/philly\/2014\/03\/04\/city-philadelphia-it-upgrades-adel-ebeid\/.<\/p>\n

[11] Juliana Reyes, \u201cWhat the City\u2019s New 311 System Means for You,\u201d Technical.ly Philly, February 19, 2015, https:\/\/technical.ly\/philly\/2015\/02\/19\/new-311-system\/.<\/p>\n

[12] \u201cWasting Millions on Failed Tech Upgrades Hurts Philadelphians,\u201d accessed November 12, 2017, http:\/\/www.philly.com\/philly\/opinion\/commentary\/wasting-millions-on-failed-tech-upgrades-hurts-philadelphians-20170814.html.<\/p>\n

[13] Jason Shueh, \u201cSoon, Machine Learning Will Make It Easier to Submit 311 Requests in Boston,\u201d StateScoop, accessed November 12, 2017, http:\/\/statescoop.com\/soon-machine-learning-will-make-it-easier-to-submit-311-requests-in-boston.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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