An examination of the municipal 311 system

Government accountability and responsiveness are foundational concerns of public managers, citizens, the media, and advocacy organizations. Technologies provide viable alternatives for increasing citizen access to government and improving governmentʼs responses to the issues of greatest concern to citizens, and the implementation of non-emergency 311 systems have shown tremendous potential in this regard. This paper, therefore, examines municipal 311 systems in terms of accountability and responsiveness functions, namely usability, services provided, internal operations, and measurable outputs. A survey of fourteen municipalities with 311 systems throughout the United States results in the identification of best practices in each of the four research categories.