ABU DHABI // A free mobile app to report incidents to Abu Dhabi authorities has been downloaded more than 14,000 times since its launch less than three months ago.
CityGuard allows users to send pictures of accidents, potholes or make complaints to Abu Dhabi Municipality and then track the progress of their case. It was introduced at the end of June.
The success of the application was noted at the GCC e-Participation and e-Governance Forum in the capital yesterday, not just for its users but also for authorities.
When a user submits a case through the app, the relevant department is informed and this has led to improvements in the services they deliver.
"We were worried at the beginning opening this kind of social platform to the public but we were really surprised with the high number of valid incidents coming in," said Khaled Al Mazrouie, business information manager at Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre.
"It is a new thing for the government and collaboration between departments is one of the main objectives of this. We want departments to work together and strategise with how best to deliver services.
"Our eventual target is for the whole population to use it, but this will come slowly."
Mr Al Mazrouie indicated that a gradual uptake is actually beneficial for authorities as it allows for time to adapt to the new method of working and, as such, they have not marketed the app aggressively.
"The programme is part of the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre, which is 24 hours, seven days a week, and this has led to a lot of data being gathered from citizens. Today we have about 500,000 cases in the system that our teams can look at and learn from.
"This data can be analysed and so it shows how e-Participation really helps the government develop its services."
Plans to release some of the data collected through the app to the public and relevant government departments are now under discussion to highlight key areas of interest.
ksinclair@thenational.ae