10 Tips - How To Avoid Citizen Engagement Pitfalls

1. 10 Tips – How to Avoid Citizen Engagement Pitfalls IGLUS Executive Master – Kuala Lumpur | Melaka training module Dr. Mazlan Abbas CEO - FAVORIOT Email: mazlan@favoriot.com March 15, 2017 © IGLUS 2017+

2. Content § Many citizen engagement mobile apps (example – identifying pothole, drainage faulty traffic light, illegal parking, unattended, etc. issues) failed simply because they are unable to sustain the popularity, usage, and continuous enhancement. Why?

6. Capacity To Hear And Respond Twitter SMS Whatsapp Facebook Radio TV “Black hole” issue Traditional channels (web portals, emails, phone calls etc)and method unable to handle effectively Ad Hoc Chaotic VIRAL CITY AUTHORITIES CITIZENS

7. FAVORIOT APPROACH BUILDING THE NEXT SMART CITY SOLUTIONS We Build Cities Based on Citizen-Centric Approach CROWDSENSING Get citizens input via their smartphones IDENTIIFY & SOLVE Identify locations of issues and City Authorities respond accordingly LIVEABLE CITIES Citizens have a better quality of life BUILD NEXT SMART CITY SOLUTION Leverage innovative IOT solutions to solve the pain points of cities inhabitants RANK & DECIDE Authorities decide and justify their next plan of action CITY INDICATOR Citizens will see how their cities perform

8. CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT MOBILE APP

11. Smart Waste Management “I’M FULL” ALERT RIGHT ROUTES TIMELY SCHEDULE UNATTENDED GARBAGE

12. Smart Parking Smart Parking With Sensors Location of Parking Availability Parking Utilization Tiered Pricing Parking

13. Tweeting Potholes (PANAMA)

14. Tip (1) – Buy-in From Both Segments • It requires the active participation of both parties. It’s like “chicken or egg” question. Who starts first? • Residents felt that their complaints would go down the deaf ears of the local councils – just like going down the black hole. • The local authorities that are sensitive to the citizens feel that the citizens need to channel their grouses into a proper channel rather than letting their anger on social media and become terribly viral.

15. Tip (2) – Publicity • If you ask 100 or 1000 people on the streets whether they have heard such application. We can almost guarantee you that none have heard that. • It’s easier to get a ridiculous publicity message across the WhatsApp rather than something which is more useful • ”Engagement fatigue” • Staff intensive • Time consuming • Little return of Municipal investment

16. Tip (3) – Finding The Right Concerned Citizens • Who are these people? What type of individuals that are concerned about the cleanliness or safety of the surrounding. • The NATO and the SELFIES – the non-concerned citizens

17. Tip (4) – Gamification If Necessary • People Wants An Incentive To Participate In Crowdsourcing Initiative. Either Get Themselves Paid In Monetary Or Prizes. • The Other Way Is To Gamify The App In Such A Way That Gives Some Form Of Status Within The Community App. Give Them Points And Elevate Them Into A Different Status Or Higher Rank On The Leadership Board. • Launch Contest With Prizes For Being The Most Active Users.

18. Tip (5) – Pressure Groups • No administrators of the cities would love to receive complaints every day. Nobody likes to handle hundreds or thousands of complaints each day throughout the whole year. But if they did not manage and close the complaints, how could they solve all the problems which are already in the queue? • Why need to be in a reactive mode when local councils can be proactive? • Sometimes, city authorities need a little push or “pressure” from the people.

19. Tip (6) – Social Media Channels • The most popular official channels by local councils are either through phone, fax, web portal or email. But technology has rapidly changed the landscape of communications with the advent of smartphones, mobile Internet, and Social Media. “One App to Bind Them All” • Allow the citizens to communicate on their favorite social media channels.

20. Tip (7) – In-house Vs Outsource • It’s NOT only the front-end but also the backend system. • Thus, a lot of cities who thought that they could just develop the mobile app (i.e. the front-end) in- house did not realize what they are going to end up. • Nearly all local council IT departments are not set up as a product development house. The budget given to them are only enough to operate, manage and maintain the IT system but not to become innovative and develop their application.

21. Tip (8) – Product Roadmap • Handling a continuous development and future enhancement of the backend system requires a sustainable IT support resources. • New technology emerges and thus it must quickly be adapted with the current process workflow. • Developing and supporting this in-house will probably give the IT department of the local council a horrible nightmare that they will always regret.

22. Tip (9) – Smart City Vision • Citizen engagement is only one of the single component in a Smart City. They are many applications which require integration to a smart city platform; thus, it cannot be developed in silo manner. • Remember that IOT also requires input from physical sensors (other than the sensors from the smartphones). • A real Smart City need an integrated platform that collects and aggregates various sources of data (structured or unstructured) to discover the insights of the city and make cities a better and sustainable place to live.

23. Tip (10) – It’s Not An It Job! • Of course, any IT company can develop the mobile app. • However, IOT requires different skills that encompass embedded programming, understanding different communications protocols, cloud services, and big data analytics.

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