Citizen participation has taken center stage in the quickly changing terrain of modern administration. Governments worldwide are realizing how crucial it is to improve public services, increase transparency, and involve citizens in decision-making processes.
In this context, citizen engagement platforms have emerged as critical instruments in this attempt. These digital solutions provide a variety of features and capabilities aimed at encouraging meaningful interactions between governments and their constituents.
What is citizen engagement software?
Citizen engagement software is a comprehensive digital solution that enhances interactions between governments and constituents. It facilitates efficient interaction, access to digital public services, and public involvement through various features:
- Administrative streamlining: Helps streamline tasks like ID extensions and license renewals.
- Access equality: Provides accessible digital channels for government services, irrespective of location or abilities.
- Encourages participation: Promotes active involvement in decision-making processes.
- Data-driven service enhancement: Enables governments to improve services based on collected citizen feedback.
Best citizen engagement platforms
1. Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat functions as a platform for inclusive collaboration, overcoming communication gaps between government organizations and enabling streamlined collaboration. It provides continuous communication with citizens and partners across departments and agencies, regardless of the platforms they use.
Rocket.Chat also relies on open source technology to enable improvement of the quality of public services.
What sets it apart are robust security features built with government use case in mind, such as on-premise deployment.
Core features
Data control: Prioritize data privacy, security governance, and compliance while managing data on-premise, in a secure cloud, or in isolated environments.
Robust security: Utilize end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication, customized roles, and granular data retention policies for secure conversations.
Unified communication: Exchange encrypted messages, share files, and conduct secure video calls, keeping conversation history accessible.
Simplified user management: Manage user and group access through integration with Active Directory, SAML, and Single Sign-on.
Cross-agency collaboration: Foster secure collaboration with external partners across agencies using the Matrix federation protocol, irrespective of their tools.
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2. CentralSquare
CentralSquare's citizen engagement platform, part of the Public Admin Suite Pro, is tailored for public administration agencies. In order to meet citizen requests, it has self-service options, automation capabilities, and multi-language support that seamlessly integrates with already-existing websites and mobile apps.
Core features
Self-service options: Residents can look up information, file a complaint, pay their bills, get in touch with employees, and more.
Automation capabilities: Increase productivity by eliminating manual tasks and phone calls.
Ease of implementation: Provides reassurance that the solution is compatible with the mobile apps and website currently in use by your company.
Personalization choices: accessible so you have total control over the required information and how the forms are displayed.
Secure electronic payment processing: For non-cash payments and supported third-party transactions.
3. IBM Citizen Engagement
Personalized services with an emphasis on social programming are the goal of the IBM Citizen Engagement platform, a mobile-friendly and cloud-based platform. With client portals, multiprogram screening, chatbot assistance, and mobile-first design, IBM facilitates citizens in accessing and understanding government programs easily.
Core features
Client portal: It includes pre-screening and application queries for social agendas and joblessness.
Multiprogram screening: Allows individuals to self-screen for all programs the association offers and be directed to the appropriate services, referrals, and benefits.
The Watson Assistant chatbot: This chatbot ensures citizens receive precise information and necessary assistance.
Web-based online applications: Online applications, utilizing pre-filled forms and intelligent scripts, guide citizens effectively through the application process.
Built-in accessibility: The platform incorporates mobile-first design and browser support, following Section 508 guidelines for accessibility.
4. District Engage
Touted as a next-generation platform for community participation, District Engage allows groups to connect with citizens through open discussions. Administrators may put up projects even in the absence of technical expertise thanks to this user-friendly solution, which also reduces the administrative strain associated with hosting public consultations.
Additionally, it is quite adaptable for creating workflows that improve the customer experience and aid in gauging public opinion.
Core features
Form builder: Users can utilize the form builder to craft surveys of varying complexities, integrate multimedia, apply step validation, and more.
Centralized search technology: It helps sort content across all websites and the intranet efficiently.
Revisioning option: This feature provides the ability to clear content revision history and perform rollbacks.
Content scheduler: With this, users can schedule content for automatic publication at specific times.
Synchronize user groups: Synchronize user groups and manage roles and permissions centrally from one location.
5. Verint
Verint provides federal, national, state, local, and regional governments with citizen engagement technologies to support them in providing essential public services to their citizens. Along with assisted assistance, self-service is part of its extensive array of engagement management tools.
Furthermore, it has fundamental uses that support governments in implementing their "digital first" policy.
Core features
Customer portal: The customer portal offers a comprehensive platform enabling users to access information, report issues, request services, and process payments, among other functionalities.
Knowledge authoring: It empowers users to create, tag, and publish diverse content types such as videos, graphics, texts, or file attachments.
Knowledge management: It enables users to organize information systematically, enhancing efficiency and self-sufficiency.
Self-serve search: It assists both employees and customers in effortlessly retrieving the specific information they seek.
Analytics: Analytics provides actionable insights from recorded interactions within the system, supporting the implementation of a digital-first approach.
Online forms: It offers a user-friendly and convenient method to report complex processes.
6. Granicus
Granicus, a digital civic engagement system, supports government agencies of all sizes, modernizing online services, records management, public meetings, and more.
It streamlines government-citizen interactions with features such as online agenda management, fast digital vote capturing, and secure digital storage.
Core features
Online agenda management: It facilitates the creation and organization of meeting agendas into a logical sequence.
Instant digital vote capture: This feature streamlines the voting process, eliminating manual counting.
Constituent relationship management: This integrates CRM features into digital government management, enabling oversight of resident interactions across multiple channels.
Secure digital storage: Secure digital storage offers role-based permissions for accessing redacted and unredacted information.
7. CitizenLab
CitizenLab is primarily a community engagement platform for local governments, encouraging resident participation in public projects. CitizenLab elements that streamline interaction and reduce administrative responsibilities range from strategy and budgeting to community growth.
Core features
Participatory budgeting: This empowers community members to allocate budgets to specific project ideas and understand worthwhile investment opportunities.
Surveys: Surveys enable the collection of insights from community members, offering a deeper understanding of their needs and expectations.
Mapping: Mapping facilitates visual representations of neighborhood events, aiding in addressing local needs and concerns.
Ideation: Ideation gathers direct input from residents, providing valuable insights into their preferences for utilizing public spaces.
Workshops: Workshops provide opportunities for live discussions and real-time deliberation, fostering collaboration within the community.
Support citizens while using digital public services
Citizen engagement platforms are vital digital tools ensuring high participation in public processes.
To support government agencies and other public sector entities, Rocket.Chat has developed a chat that enables secure collaboration between public sector organizations and citizens. It has been listed as one of the preferred collaboration tools in the public sector in Sweden.
Learn more about Rocket.Chat's offer for government.
Frequently asked questions about <anything>
- Digital sovereignty
- Federation capabilities
- Scalable and white-labeled
- Highly scalable and secure
- Full patient conversation history
- HIPAA-ready
- Digital sovereignty
- Trusted by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the US Army, the US Navy, and the US Air Force
- Matrix federation capabilities
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- Open source code
- Highly secure and scalable
- Unmatched flexibility
- End-to-end encryption
- Cloud or on-prem deployment
- Supports compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, FINRA, and more
- Supports compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, FINRA, and more
- Highly secure and flexible
- On-prem or cloud deployment
