Digital engagement and location intelligence: how local government councils are utilising it
Location has become a critical component of government data.
Creating a location-aware government requires more than just updating technology that dates back to the GIS era. Rather, it requires governments to integrate location data into larger digital transformation initiatives. Furthermore, smart government initiatives will place even greater importance on data management and analytics.
Decisions are made on the basis of precise, accurate data, which ensures strategies and plans are based on factual analysis, accurately forecasted spending, and budgets allocated accordingly. Local governments are shifting their focus from service delivery and box-ticking to achieving outcomes. This implies a more holistic approach to budget allocation and results rather than purely transactional. To achieve these goals, the data is crucial.
Let's have a look at how local councils can utilise location intelligence.
The role of location intelligence in the public sector will increase in the future. However, the technology has already revolutionised a host of governance practices, including:
Law enforcement
Location intelligence technology has already shown benefits to law enforcement agencies, reducing crime rates significantly in areas where it is currently being implemented.
It enables police to:
Visualise and measure crime based on its location
Analyse crime trends: frequency, type, severity, similarities, etc.
Make predictions about when and where crimes are most likely to occur
Council tax
Using location intelligence, local authorities are detecting council tax avoidance with remarkable success. By improving address management, they were able to detect the avoidance of council tax.
Using information about occupancy changes and council tax bands, they can then attribute council tax-related data to specific addresses in order to identify residents who need to pay more.
Waste management
In order to ensure resources are positioned effectively, local councils can leverage location intelligence. Council workers could, for instance, map the locations of all household waste and recycling centres in a defined area. Council staff could automatically plot estimated drive times to see whether center locations were easily accessible for all local residents by incorporating location intelligence.
Find out how location intelligence can improve public sector and commercial governance.
