In May 2024, eight staff members from the 311 Program attended the Engage 311 Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The conference provided opportunities to learn from fellow experts, share successes and lessons learned, and find ways to improve the customer service center environment and engagement. This premier educational conference occurs each spring and offers both beginning and experienced 311 and customer service center industry leaders the chance to see new products and systems, network with industry peers and vendors, and advance their centers.
The staff were honored to be keynote speakers, including Michelle Kunec-North, PDX 311 Program Manager, who spoke about the success of transformative 311 initiatives. Michelle shared how PDX 311 brought diverse agencies together to craft and implement a 311 vision centered on access and the removal of barriers for community members and staff. Her session explored the art of selling this vision to diverse leadership entities, ensuring a comprehensive buy-in that spanned different departments and levels of government. The presentation highlighted the collaborative approach used to replace the city's website and online forms, presenting an opportunity to modernize a wide cross-section of essential municipal systems.

Matt Galport, PDX 311 Analyst II, spoke about designing a 311 monitoring system to facilitate program evaluation. He shared a roadmap for designing and implementing the system for monitoring key 311 program metrics. He also discussed how to strategically select and implement program evaluation frameworks to get the most value for the program's unique context and needs. Matt summarized techniques for building out 311 program monitoring systems that enable robust program evaluations. He included an overview of the range of evaluation approaches, criteria for selecting an optimal approach, and considerations for building monitoring systems that facilitate each evaluation approach.

Kristin Brown, PDX 311 Communications Coordinator, led a session titled "Empowering Inclusivity: The PDX 311 Outreach Campaign." She shared the PDX 311 campaign focused on assisting underserved populations: those with language barriers or limited internet access, the homeless, racial minorities, and people with disabilities. With the program’s motto, “Your government connection,” she shared how she used social media, web ads, swag, info sheets, and transportation ads to connect with these populations and the general public. The campaign was deployed through digital outreach and engagement via a Univision partnership and a network of community groups. With feedback, examples, and statistics in hand, PDX 311 worked to simplify interpreter services and ensure information confidentiality so that residents felt reassured and encouraged to call for information, reporting, or referrals.