Government was designed to serve citizens. But if serving citizens is the intent, why are citizens so often frustrated with their government? Is it possible to imagine that people might one day feel satisfied – even delighted – when interacting with their government? Wouldn’t we have far better communities and a far better democracy? We think so. At Accela, we believe that engagement can make all the difference.
When government comes to citizens on their terms, through mobile, social and open data. When getting a permit is more like tracking a FedEx package than waiting in line at the post office. When sharing a suggestion for civic improvement is more like writing a Yelp review than filing your taxes. When government spends more time listening because routine administration is as streamlined as an Amazon supply chain. When this is a reality, you unlock the power of citizen engagement – working hand in hand with people to build great communities and rebuild trust in government.
Accela makes it simple, safe and affordable to truly start engaging because not only do we understand what citizens want, we also understand what governments need. We speak citizen – understanding their expectations for instant response, 24/7 availability, two-way conversations and constant innovation. But we are just as fluent in speaking government – understanding agencies’ need for compliance, security, to do more with less while empowering employees to be more efficient and productive.
By speaking both citizen and government, we’ve been able to build the core of our product, the Accela Civic Platform. It’s the tested, secure bridge between government agencies and the devices already in citizens’ hands. Off the shelf, the Civic Platform creates the two-way flow of data that makes engagement possible. The open platform allows for a large community of developers to build every imaginable citizen engagement app, for access to open data, and for configurability and flexibility. What government agencies can do with the Civic Platform is limited only by what the Accela community can imagine.
We believe a new era is arriving in which government for the people is coming to the people. By working together, we can build communities that citizens love and feel passionate about. That’s a good thing for improving democracy and the heroes who make it run.