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City of Seattle staff recently shared results from five high-priority user research projects aimed at improving delivery of public services. These projects were completed through Seattle By Design, a pilot program that connected a cohort of volunteer experts with City staff to answer questions and make recommendations using best practices in user research. Seattle By Design is a partnership between U.S Digital Response (USDR) and Innovation & Performance.
Five user research projects were completed during the 10-week program. Seattle By Design was launched to help City staff better understand residentsā needs and improve the delivery of public services. Staff who participated in Seattle By Design have had positive feedback about the experience, sharing, āThe research helped us to avoid making decisions based on assumptions, which would not have been effective.ā
The five project teams are now working on applying their research findings to their programs. Innovation & Performance will continue building capacity for future user research at the City. Innovation & Performance staff are evaluating the Seattle By Design pilot program through surveys and interviews with cohort participants to understand what improvements can be incorporated moving forward. Read more about the research projects completed on our blog: Seattle By Design
This summer, Mayor Bruce Harrell celebrated national recognition for Seattleās exceptional use of data in its government and policy after the City received a prestigious award from What Works Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Seattle achieved Gold Certification after demonstrating a dedication to making data-informed decisions that generate better outcomes for residents.
Mayor Harrellās collaborative One Seattle approach to data has also resulted in the Cityās inclusion in the City Data Alliance, a Bloomberg Philanthropies program, which helps local governments improve and expand their data use. The Data Alliance offers expertise and partnership to support Seattleās efforts to develop a robust data strategy aligned with Mayor Harrellās vision, with deliverables such as formalizing a demographic data standard, developing an evaluation policy, and forming a plan for workforce development.
Learn more on our blog: What Works Cities Certification
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The City of Seattleās CiviForm tool was named one the 50 most transformative smart projects of 2023 by Smart Cities Connect.
Affordable Seattle is an an online resource to help residents find benefits they may be eligible for in the City of Seattle. CiviForm is an open-source tool that makes it easier for residents and their trusted community-based organizations to apply to discount and benefit programs. Users can enter their information once and apply to multiple City programs. CiviForm was designed based on the input of Seattle residents and built by the City of Seattle Information Technology department in collaboration with google.org.
The CiviForm team's Matthew Sprenke and Miguel Jimenez received the award at the Smart Cities Connect Award Ceremony in Denver, CO on May 15 on behalf of Affordable Seattle/CiviForm. The Affordable Seattle/CiviForm Team members include Gwen Goetz, Elise Kalstad, Swathi Murthi, and Matthew Sprenke of Seattle Information Technology; Long Dinh and Miguel Jimenez of the Seattle Innovation and Performance Team; and partners in the open-source project from google.org, Exygy, State of Arkansas, and Bloomington, Indiana.Ā
Learn more about the Smart 50 Awards.
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