For Immediate Release
November 3, 2015
CONTACT: Susan Norton
Communications and Marketing Director
479-575-8330
snorton@fayetteville-ar.gov
Fayetteville Receives Recognition in 2015 Digital Cities Survey
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The City of Fayetteville is receiving recognition for its new website and more personalized, streamlined services and several other digital initiatives that help inform and engage citizens.
The City took second place in the small city population category for Digital Cities and will receive an award at the National League of Cities conference in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday, Nov. 5. The annual survey recognizes leading examples of cities using technology to improve services and boost efficiencies.
Now in its 15th year, the Digital Cities Survey is part of the Center for Digital Government’s Digital Communities program, which focuses on collaboration among cities, counties and regions. Open to all U.S. cities, the survey focuses on ten initiatives across four categories: citizen engagement, policy, operations, and technology and data. Responses are reviewed and judged based on a set of criteria and how well the cities implemented these services across the entire city.
“The top-ranked digital city governments in this year’s survey are using cloud services, data analytics and mobile apps—among other technologies—to help citizens interact with government more easily than ever before,” said Todd Sander, executive director of the Center for Digital Government. “These cities are true innovators and we applaud their efforts to increase transparency and open government, encourage citizen participation, and enhance cybersecurity. Congratulations to the winners!”
The survey honors cities in four population classifications: 250,000 or more; 125,000 to 249,999; 75,000 to 124,999 and fewer than 75,000. Based on 2010 census data, Fayetteville falls in the smallest population category.
GovTech said Fayetteville is “in the smallest city population category, but its digital practices rival many of its big-city counterparts.” Among other digital services, the City was recognized for its new website and My Fayetteville Services (gis.fayetteville-ar.gov/myfayettevilleservices/), a GIS location-based service that pinpoints local schools, recycling and trash pickup days, parks, libraries, hospitals and more. The City’s major technology projects can be viewed at fayetteville-ar.gov/1991.
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