2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

Institutional Context 47
As an example, the mayor’s neighborhood liaisons, government
employees who work with neighborhood groups on community issues,
reported that citizens wanted illegal dumping situations addressed in
a more timely manner. IndyStat decided to take the issue on as a Six
Sigma pilot project and brought together a diverse group of stakeholders
including, among others, the Mayor’s Action Center, the mayor’s
neighborhood liaisons, the Office of the Corporation Council, and the
Departments of Code Enforcement, Public Works, and Health.
The Mayor’s Action Center provided data on the number of cases
being called in by constituents and the nature of the complaints. These
data were mapped by the GIS Department to show where the heaviest
volume of complaints came from in the city. The Six Sigma team
then worked to establish a clear path for issue abatement. In 2008, the
resulting pilot program, Clean Sweep, yielded 110 tons of trash from
one heavy-hit neighborhood. This neighborhood served as a pilot target
area and provided a baseline for measuring statistical change that will be
documented as further improvements are made over time.
Community Satisfaction Surveys and
Other Citizen Engagement Technologies
GIS, 311 and CRM systems, and other performance data provide solid
quantitative information, but qualitative information that reflects the
attitudes of community residents is also important. Community satisfaction
surveys measure how residents perceive their community and
reflect the public’s attitudes toward services provided by the local government.
Surveys have long been a favored methodology for engaging
citizens in the work of the community. Such data can help local government
leaders who want to develop a strategic plan to guide community
development, to gauge public support for new initiatives, or to measure
citizen satisfaction with services.
Securing citizen input on local government plans and initiatives is
critical for the governance of communities. Decisions that affect the
whole of a community should reflect the desires of the residents of that
community. In an era when demands on personal time prevent many
citizens from attending public meetings and workshops, alternate tools
for seeking the public’s thoughts and reactions about proposed initiatives
need to be considered by local governments. Well-designed web
surveys that account for sample size and the representation of the whole