I&T Highlights from 2023
We’re celebrating a big year for the South Bend Department of Innovation & Technology!
Here a glimpse at some of the things we did and some of the news that most excited us!
We Celebrated 10 Years of 311 Customer Service
The 311 team first launched under Mayor Pete Buttigieg in 2013. Ten years in, the team has completed over a million resident calls, expanded departmental support, and embraced new partnerships. In addition to taking customer calls across all Departments, 311 also provides support in Spanish, deployed an online portal, and also collects annual budget feedback.
This milestone anniversary was a great way to celebrate where we’ve been and think about the exciting future ahead of us in customer service and experience.
We Achieved What Works Cities Gold
The City of South Bend was named a What Works Cities Gold City in 2023. We are one of the smallest cities to attain this distinction and we are also the only city in Indiana to have any type of What Works Cities Certification.
Cities earn certification by demonstrating excellence in data governance and analytics. Cities also demonstrate their ability to use data to shape policy and improve operations. Some of our recent work that helped us attain What Works Cities Gold included:
- Results-driven contracting for parks safety and social assistance outreach
- A performance management improvement sprint with our partners at Johns Hopkins University GovEx
- Improved data governance, including new internal guidelines and training regarding form design, data security, and dis-aggregated data standards
We Were Recognized as a “Visionary” Digital Equity Trailblazer City
At the end of 2023, South Bend received the National Digital Inclusion Association’s (NDIA) first “Visionary Trailblazer” designation. It recognized communities that have deeply integrated digital inclusion throughout their government and are leading the way in digital inclusion innovation.
South Bend achieved Trailblazer status by:
- Providing the free public South Bend Open Wi-Fi network at over 140 locations across the City
- Launching an outreach program to promote the Affordable Connectivity Program with $500k in federal funding
- Convening the South Bend Connectivity Coalition to catalyze digital equity partnerships
To even more about this portfolio, read our Digital Equity Roadmap.
Notre Dame Won an EDA Tech Hub Grant for our Region
Our team supported the Notre Dame Wireless Institute’s application for an EDA Tech Hub Grant for a Midwest Wireless Innovation Strategy. In 2023, it was announced that ND Wireless won! We are excited to see how the university brings together industry, university, and civic partners can innovative together in this sector. The ultimate goal is to catalyze more economic activity for our region.
Though a small city, South Bend has a stake in our country’s wireless future. It impacts our residents’ connectivity, our local educational system, and our “smart city” future. Read more about our stake in this cause here.
We Broke “Build the Budget” Records
For the third year in a row, I&T has led “Build the Budget” — a gamified budget engagement sprint that has dramatically increased resident input in our annual budget cycle. For the 2024 budget, passed in October of 2023, we received over 1,100 pieces of feedback across transcribed and coded voicemails, surveys, and budget games. This is the most we’ve ever accomplished.
Read the full Build the Budget 2024 Report here.
Cross-City Learning, New Policies, and Training Catalyzed by GenerativeAI
With cautious optimism, our team has embraced generative AI and also started down the path of governance and training for our staff. The most helpful thing has been to engage with other cities on this topic, especially since the landscape is changing so quickly. South Bend is part of the Bloomberg City AI Connect community as well as the Metrolab Generative AI Committee.
If you are interested in engaging on these topics, we strongly encourage city peers to sign up for City AI Connect. South Bend’s draft GenAI guidelines and staff survey are posted and shared there for other cities to make use of!
We Won “Best in State App” Indiana Award
Our Team won the “Best in Indiana App” award at the Indiana Digital Government Summit. In 2022, South Bend deployed a new Utility Assistance Program and an application management system to run it.
We were honored to have a project recognized at the state level — especially one that is so important to our vulnerable residents.
We Created a New Structure and Team to Take South Bend Forward
With Mayor Mueller’s support, we grew the Innovation & Technology Team in 2023. Specifically, we:
- Combined existing and new roles to create a new Digital Team in our Department — a group of developers, solution designers, UX testers, web managers, and digital communications professionals that will deliver dedicated digital services to our Departments.
- Brought the popular, Bloomberg-seeded Commuters Trust Program into City operations, making it and mobility piloting/equity a fixture in our Civic Innovation Division.
- Grew our 311 Team in terms of expertise and people. The 311 Team is now the “Customer Service & Success” Division which operates as a traditional call center, but is also future focused with an eye toward process innovation, CX, and automation.
These changes mean more capacity to undertake projects for Departments and City partners. We couldn’t be more thrilled!
Onward to 2024!
We will be posting news and updates here on our Medium Blog throughout 2024. We look forward to another amazing year of data, innovation, and digital transformation. Happy New Year!
