Real-time Citizen Remote Interaction Application

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The Planning and Development department (PND) has always had a major part of their business interface done in person. Customers met with PND staff in person to submit paper permits. With the 2020 pandemic, PND’s business was forced to go almost entirely online. PND needed to find a new way to communicate with customers that provided the same level of service as face-to-face interactions. PND felt the best way to continue providing excellent customer support was to create a process that would allow customers submitting permits online to interact with staff in real time. This process included implementing a new staffing model and integrating a live remote chat application with PND’s online permitting portal.