311Direct Smartphone Application Wins Mobile Government Award

Online, March 4, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Miami-Dade County's innovation in the delivery of government services using mobile technology has recently earned praises from a nationally recognized government technology organization. In its annual awards, the Public Technology Institute (PTI) named 311Direct a winner in the mobile government category for cities or counties serving a population of 750,000 or more.

311Direct is a free mobile application that enables iPhone and Blackberry users to report neighborhood issues directly to the County's 3-1-1 Answer Center using their smartphones. Users can request eight different types of neighborhood fixes, attach a photo of the problem, and even help pinpoint its location using their phone's GPS features.

The County decided to develop 311Direct after confirming that 80 percent of calls placed to 311 were made from mobile phones, a clear indication that an increasing number of residents have the technology needed to report problems without having to speak to a live agent. Since going live in September, there have been more than 1,400 downloads of 311Direct, with iPhone users accounting for about 70 percent of that total. The top three reported items are potholes, signs on the right-of-way and animal related calls.

This latest award comes just as Miami-Dade County prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its web portal - miamidade.gov - next month. After a decade of web-based service delivery, the challenge for government leaders in today's ever-changing tech environment is to keep things fresh. "The demand for government services hasn't diminished so we are constantly challenged to find innovative ways to keep pace and serve the public," says Judi Zito, director of the Government Information Center, the agency behind 311Direct and miamidade.gov.

This particular stamp of approval is highly prized in government circles since PTI is the only organization created by and for cities and counties. "It means our peers, those that best know the challenges we face in delivering government service, recognize the value of what we're trying to accomplish," says Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

To download 311Direct, visit http://miamidade.gov/wps/portal/Main/mobile/.