Katie Donnelly
The citizen reporting and GPS capabilities of smart phones are powering a surge in place-based government watchdog projects. Some of these hyperlocal initiatives effectively use crowdsourced information to hold government officials accountable—see, for example, New York City’s Uncivil Servants. But crowdsourcing projects can also work with government officials to facilitate change, according to the people behind SeeClickFix.
SeeClickFix is a large scale, “free mobile phone and web tool that allows citizens to report and document non-emergency issues to communicate them to those accountable for the public space.” The concept is quite simple: users report non-emergency 311 issues, which SeeClickFix record on a map. Users can create geographical “watch areas” on the map and receive email notification whenever an issue is reported or updated in the area. They can also vote on the importance of particular issues and collaborate on finding solutions. When an issue is resolved, all interested parties receive notice. Those who want to be involved at a deeper level can volunteer to be “SideClicks” in their local communities. SideClicks are SeeClickFix ambassadors who help publicize the tool, follow up with local officials, and provide the SeeClickFix team with appropriate feedback. There is also SeeClickFix Pro, a paid service with additional features. The Pro service appears to be geared mostly towards government officials, as its main benefits include streamlining, itemizing and exporting lists of multiple issues.
When compared to a traditional 311 system, the benefits of SeeClickFix are striking. Instead of filling out a complaint form or putting in a call to a 311 operator, users can visually document their neighborhood issues for the world to see. This encourages communication among users, who can comment on each other’s submissions and collaborate to find solutions (with or without the help of municipal agencies). Instead of calling 311 back repeatedly to see if their issue has been resolved, users receive email alerts with status updates, which can help them feel invested in the process. Users can choose to receive updates about additional issues in their “watch area,” which helps to foster concern for the neighborhood as a whole, not just for one particular issue. Ideally, with responsive city agencies and ample resources, it’s an efficient way to remedy problems. Even if problems aren’t resolved, however, at the very least, SeeClickFix enables citizens to connect around quality-of-life issues in their neighborhoods.
SeeClickFix was conceived in November, 2007 and launched in March 2008. It was founded by four New Haven, Connecticut residents: Ben Berkowitz, Jeff Blasius, Kam Lasater and Miles Lasater. For a concise overview, see this 90 second video from Berkowitz:
The founders were inspired by the UK’s FixMyStreet. However, SeeClickFix differs from FixMyStreet in several ways, including ease of widespread implementation, open data, an open application programming interface (API), Creative Commons licensing, and community features such as YouTube Video Integration, a community flagging system, and Twitter issue reporting. For a full comparison, see this blog post from co-founder Miles Lasater.
I had a chance to speak with SeeClickFix co-founder (and current sole full-time staff member) Ben Berkowitz recently, and he shared some of the site’s recent successes. Berkowitz says he’s received “tons of feedback” from users, government agencies and elected officials who’ve found the tool to be helpful. SeeClickFix has established partnerships with an impressive list of major news organizations, including Philly.com, The Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning News, and hyperlocal sites from The New York Times and The Boston Globe. SeeClickFix has also entered into a partnership with Washington, DC’s 311 system. According to the SeeClickFix blog:
When web visitors use the specialized DC subdomain of the SeeClickFix website, they have the option to report issues directly into the DC 311 system. The system automatically pulls the categories of issues from the DC API. If the user picks a category supported by DC311, the user is presented with the additional required questions. The system also uses DC's GIS to guide the user in selecting a known address. And issues reported to DC via other methods besides SeeClickFix are also displayed on dc.seeclickfix.com.
Berkowitz also described expansion plans for SeeClickFix. Version 1.0 of their iPhone app was just recently released and Version 1.2 is on its way soon. The company is also working on adding another full time staff member and translating the site into Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and French. SeeClickFix does have a few international partnerships, and they have SideClicks all over the world, including France, Mongolia and Fiji.
Of course, the one question that comes up over and over again for SeeClickFix is the digital divide issue. If users flock to tools like SeeClickFix, does it mean that affluent areas with tech-savvy users will get the lion’s share of attention? Berkowitz “doesn’t totally buy it.” He sees plenty of evidence of users from traditionally underserved communities making use of the tool. He pointed to two recent cases: in one, a woman reported three drug dealers from her low-income housing project. In another, New Haven police conducted an effective heroin sting operation based on information gleaned from SeeClickFix. In both these cases, community members had taken action online.(SeeClickFix also provides a call-in number for people without Internet access. However, Berkowitz says that only a small percentage of users make use of the telephone number.)
SeeClickFix’s aim is to supplement 311, and continue to enter into partnerships with existing 311 systems – but not to replace it all together. But are government agencies receptive? In New Haven, at least, where SeeClickFix has been extremely successful by any measurement, the answer is yes. But whether other cities (particularly those lacking in technological resources) will embrace crowdsourced 311 remains to be seen.
Want to learn more about Public Media 2.0? Read our white paper: Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics.