Tiffany Goddard: Citizen Engagement Key to Cities’ Public Works, Safety Goals

Tiffany Goddard, a citizen engagement specialist at Carahsoft, has outlined how government organizations and citizens can work together to aid in public safety functions.

Goddard wrote in a blog post published Friday that both public works and public safety organizations believe they need to change how they interact with citizens and information sharing.

She cited Accela as one such company that works with municipalities to share data through cloud computing technologies in order to automate and gain a complete view of public works-related projects.

Accela provides Baltimore a system for permit acquisitions and collaboration between public and private sector companies as part of an effort to uncover and resolve potential conflicts, Goddard said.

Goddard also described how Text2Them helps municipalities to send information to citizens and receive tips via a two-way text communication system.

In the situational awareness area, she highlighted ikeGPS’ method of using a mobile-captured image to capture and measure measurement data about structures and distances.