Cedar-Rapids.org has been recognized by Juggle as one of the top city government websites in the state of Iowa. Below you'll find an interview with Cassie Willis, Communications Liaison for the City Manager's Office of Cedar Rapids.
- Cedar-Rapids.org is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
Almost 100 City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa employees participated in the redesign and reengineering of the Web site. From gathering user input and reorganizing content, to creating a new navigational structure and training employees to use the new content management system, four teams of employees worked on this project over an 18-month period. As the Communications Liaison for the City, I led the project teams.
- Can you summarize the history of Cedar Rapids' web portal?
The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa began the Web site redesign process in March 2009 with a simple home page facelift. Later in the year, we hired Plante & Moran to create a new user-friendly, service-oriented site for public information, using the Microsoft SharePoint 2007 platform and new interactive web technologies. The new site launched in May 2010.
- What are the overarching objectives of Cedar Rapids' current e-government initiatives?
Our number one objective is to connect residents to their city government. That includes several e-government initiatives, including an electronic newsletter, social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube), the new Web site stocked with fresh content and we will soon debut a new texting/e-mail notification system.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by Cedar-Rapids.org, both on- and off-line?
Cross-promotion is key. The content created for one channel is also provided in all the other channels with a link to the most relevant page on our Web site. We want to drive our residents to the Web site so that they can get their questions answered and find the details they need.
- How has citizen feedback influenced the development of Cedar Rapids' e-government services?
We receive feedback from the citizens of Cedar Rapids, Iowa every day. We track that feedback and analyze their questions, comments and suggestions to find areas where we can improve our customer service and enhance our City communications methods. When we began the reengineering of our Web site, we created three personas based on the City’s main user groups or target audiences: residents, businesses and government/media visitors. We kept the needs and wants of these types of users in mind as we built the new site.
- What is the most-used feature or service on the site?
In the short time that the site has been live, we receive the most traffic on our home page, especially the new announcements and calendar sections. Users also prefer the new service-based navigation built into the site. They can find the City services they’re looking for in a shorter amount of time.
- In what way has harnessing social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and blogs allowed you to connect more directly and personally with the citizens of Cedar Rapids?
Twitter has proven to be one of the most important ways for the City of Cedar Rapids to connect with its residents. We welcome new followers almost every day. We strive to provide relevant content with links to more information. We ask for feedback on everything from the latest potholes to their impression of our new Web site. Job seekers that follow us on Twitter get the first notice of new job openings, too. Check us out at http://twitter.com/CityofCRiowa. (Please excuse the shameless plug.)
- What has been the biggest hurdle in developing and/or maintaining Cedar-Rapids.org, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest hurdle to developing the new Web site was content – sifting through the old content, getting employees to commit to updating content and adding new content relevant to our residents and businesses. Our former Web site included 40,000 Web pages. None of them ever expired or were audited for relevancy. Thanks to SharePoint, we can now set expiration dates and format content to disappear when it is out of date. Google Analytics helps us measure usage and track relevancy.
- Where do you see e-government heading in the next 2-3 years? Are there any exciting new features or services currently in the works for Cedar Rapids' web portal?
I believe that e-government initiatives will continue to evolve over the next 2-3 years. As the private sector develops and tests new technology, the government sector will take notice and incorporate their best practices. The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s Web site will soon debut a new texting/e-mail notification system. Residents will be able to sign up for short announcements to be sent directly to their mobile phones or PDAs.
- What else that you would like to tell us about Cedar-Rapids.org?
Our Web site will never be complete. We know that it will evolve and change to serve the citizens of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and their needs. As we continue to improve the site, we strive to cultivate and encourage public participation in city government, to provide the most accurate source for city government information and to leverage every communication opportunity with citizens in order to build and improve our community.