SCC-CIVIC-PG Track B: A Visualization Tool and Assessment Framework for Civic Technology Use in the DMV Area: The Case of 311 Systems During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The 311 systems that city officials currently deploy can efficiently help agencies detect non-emergency civic issues such as potholes and trash on the streets. Although the 311 system was designed for non-emergency calls, residents can re-appropriate the technology for capacities not initially intended. For example, when Hurricane Irma hit Miami in 2017, residents used 311 systems to report disaster-related problems, leading city officials to adapt the system and create a new category for calls.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of civic infrastructures that range from reduced public transportation systems and public libraries' closure. If managed well, local governments and publics can co-produce effective civic technology that addresses pandemic-related issues and promotes quality services. Because it is still unclear how local governments balance between managerial efficiency and citizen empowerment through 311 systems, the project team aims to understand how people use the system, how local governments support people's different uses of the system, and how the different performance metrics of local governments for 311 systems function at the metropolitan area level.

In the planning phase supported by this award, the project team is establishing connections with local governments in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (a.k.a., DMV area) through roundtables organized by a community partner, Connected DMV, and is consolidating currently-inconsistent 311 datasets as a viable unified database. If Stage 1 is successful, the project team will integrate local governments' performance metrics by analyzing their 311 datasets and survey city officials.

Based on the survey, the team will build a web-based visualization tool that shows metropolitan-level system performance during the pandemic. These tools and metrics will directly impact governments' service quality, system design adjustment processes, and citizens' awareness of communication processes. This research will also educate undergraduate and graduate students about data science and its social implications, particularly regarding marginalized communities less represented in the 311 systems.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.