Research Indicates Strong Support for Mobile Tech, Yet Slow Uptake Across Services Governments can leverage the pervasive use of smart phones by residents and for staff in the field, such as with the recently unveiled iPhone XR shown above. (Apple) State and local government agree, mobile technology contributes directly to organizational efficiency. However, many agencies are still in the early stages of adoption and are working to understand the full spectrum of options. To find out more about the mobile technology adoption progress of these agencies, Accela partnered with the Government Business Council (GBC) to poll a random sample of 139 government decision makers in… Continue reading

How an Easy-to-Use, Self-Registration Platform Helps Local Governments Forge Constructive Relationships with the Newest Breed of Small Business Owners Hardly a week goes by without news of the ongoing tug of war between short-term rental (STR) platforms and local communities. Ever since residents started using digital platforms to rent out everything from a fold-out couch to an entire vacation home, city and county governments have grappled with how to respond. Across the U.S. and around the world, governments are divided in how they feel about STRs. Some municipalities have tried to ban them outright, while others welcome this new business model as a way to… Continue reading

Tags: Airbnb, emerging regulations, Short-Term Rentals, STR

The City Improved How it Answered Requests and Was Able to Decrease its Response Times to 24 hours or Less Editors Note: This blog is part of Accela’s collection of  customer case studies that highlight how governments are using Accela’s solutions to improve services for staff and residents.  Former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle declared in an annual address that customer service was his top priority for the City. Laying out a bold agenda, he conceived of a new program whereby the municipal government would be more responsive and accountable to resident needs. As City staff began to translate the mayor’s vision into a workable plan,… Continue reading

Tags: Anaheim, CRM, Customer Relationship Management, Service Request Management, SRM

The city went live with Accela’s out-of-the-box cannabis licensing app to improve oversight and discourage black market marijuana sales When it comes to recreational marijuana, leaders in the Southern California community of Culver City are focused on consumer protection. They want business owners to have state and federal background checks, they want to ensure safe products, to have thorough inspections and they want a clear way to monitor and manage it all.Using Accela’s Civic Solution for Cannabis Regulation, the city announced the launch of a new enterprise application on Sept. 25 that has done just that. The business licensing and permitting app allows the city… Continue reading

Tags: cannabis, Culver City, marijuana apps, Marijuana Licensing, marijuana regulation, marijuana software

Accela Opens Access to Rapid Damage Assessment Solution for Affected Communities Tropical Storm Florence (Stuart Rankin / Flickr) In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Florence in the Carolinas, we want to help our customers and all communities who have been impacted. As we have done during and after other natural disasters, Accela is offering every impacted jurisdiction free access to our Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) cloud solution to streamline the inspection efforts necessary to get displaced residents back into their homes quickly and safely.The RDA cloud solution includes:Mobile inspectionsBulk Inspection record creation and assignmentsPublic-facing portal for reporting of RDA results by address and areaStreamlined FEMA relief… Continue reading

Tags: emergency preparedness, Hurricane Florence, hurricane relief, rapid damage assessment, RDA

Philly’s service request platform and civic engagement strategy show how cities can use mobile apps to build community Cities searching for a next-level strategy on “citizen engagement” should visit the City of Brotherly Love. With the launch of the Philly311 mobile app, Philadelphia has built an engagement program that connects its departments and citizens with quick communications and near seamless service response. The mobile app is Philly’s Swiss Army knife for service requests and the centerpiece of a city movement to improve neighborhoods, draw resident feedback and provide outreach to residents. With a few swipes and a photo, residents use Philly311 to report graffiti, illegal… Continue reading

Tags: Citizen Engagement, Civic Engagement, Mobile, Philadelphia, Philly311, Service Request Management, SRM

The Center for Digital Government Awards California Departments for Cannabis This month the Center for Digital Government (CDG) granted California departments high praise for the quick and efficient collaboration on the state’s cannabis licensing system. The CDG, a partner of Government Technology magazine, made the announcement Sept. 18 as part of its annual Best of California Awards that recognize governments for innovative projects and initiatives. The honorees included California’s Departments of Public Health, Technology, Food & Agriculture, and its Bureau of Cannabis Control that is housed inside the Department of Consumer Affairs. The four organizations were instrumental in the deployment of Accela’s Civic Solution for… Continue reading

Tags: california, cannabis, cannabis permitting, cannabis regulation, marijuana regulation, marijuana software

Join the conversation in the Accela Success Community today We understand that our customers are the true heroes working to modernize governments across the U.S. and around the globe. With roughly 2,000 agencies and counting using Accela there is a need for new resources, peer-to-peer innovation, and responsive support to drive success with the solutions we provide. We aspire to engage you as co-creators of the government agencies of the future. With this in mind, it’s with great excitement that today we announce the launch of our new Accela Success Community, where customers get together online to drive excellence in government technology. This is just the start as we continue to align resources internally to build upon five opportunity areas: Facilitating new connections –… Continue reading

Tags: community, customer service, Customer Success, customer support, Success Community

These Mobile Strategies May Aid Cities to Engage Residents and Increase the Impact of Services Whether you deliver services from city hall or a Fortune 500 company, having a mobile strategy is vital. Today government services must be available on mobile if they intend be effective or serve residents equitably. In 2018, the research firm Statista reports 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide is generated by mobile phones. Further, mobile traffic is expected to increase sevenfold from 2016 to 2021. As the population of mobile users grow — currently at 3.7 billion — state and local governments are expected to make websites mobile ready,… Continue reading

Tags: digital divide, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Mobile Solutions, smart phones

Things to Consider When Weighing What Systems to Revamp or Refurbish Unreadable data, lethargic load times, unmanageable maintenance, unsupported software, high security risks and shoddy service. These are just a few symptoms that plague governments as they struggle to modernize their antiquated systems.The difficulties act as both a constraint and catalyst, fueling an industry push for contemporary technologies found in the cloud and Software-as-a-Service solutions. Evidence of this wave of IT revitalization can be found in a survey conducted by the National Association fo State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Since 2013, NASCIO has reported that state CIOs have consistently ranked cloud services, cybersecurity, and IT… Continue reading

Tags: Cloud, Legacy IT, legacy modernization, SaaS, smart cities