IT Governance Business Case
Improving Customer Choice in Engaging Durham One Call Durham One Call
Background
Durham One Call is a service provided by the city of Durham to offer residents a centralized point of contact for various city services and information. It allows residents to make inquiries, report issues, and seek assistance related to city services. Durham
One Call functions as a customer support or help desk for the city, handling a wide range of requests and questions about municipal services. The goal of this service is to simplify the process for residents to get the information and assistance they need by providing a single point of contact, rather than having them navigate through multiple departments or channels.
The 2022 customer service assessments for Durham One Call service revealed the need for a chat service to complement the existing communication channels. This need was highlighted to better cater to the preferences of residents, especially the younger demographic who are more inclined to use technology-based communication methods. The assessment's findings led to the consideration of introducing a chat solution to complete Durham's range of communication options for its One Call service.
Current Business Problem
Durham One Call service is looking to enable a solution that would complete the variety of communication channels and to address the following business problems:
• Respond to inquiries from residents using their preferred communication channels. Younger and technologically savvy residents prefer text-based (SMS or web chat) communication channels to voice-based (phone or in-person) channels.
• Provide accessible communication channels for residents with diverse backgrounds, including those with different language background and hearing / speaking abilities.
• Allow residents to receive information and get support 24/7/365 using interactive, conversation-style communication.
• Allow live agents to respond to customer inquiries in case an automated system does not resolve a customer problem.
• Analyze the frequency and root causes of customer inquiries to proactively resolve common problems and provide superior customer service.
Current Pain Points
• Durham One Call currently does not provide chat enabled service to its residents. This is the only current missing means of communication being offered by Durham One Call for residents and visitors to make inquiries.
• Non-English-speaking residents might face challenges communicating using the existing text service that is provided in English language only.
Future State Benefits
• Enhanced Interaction and Responsiveness: A solution that will enable more interactive and responsive communication with residents, providing real-time answers and assistance.
• Broader Reach and Accessibility: automated translation will enhance accessibility for nonEnglish speaking residents.
• Preference Alignment: a solution that aligns with the communication preferences of a younger, more tech-savvy demographic, offering a modern, digital-first approach to customer service.
• Integrated Communication: a solution that consolidates chat and text services under one platform will streamline communication channels, making them more manageable and costeffective.
• Strategic Completion of Communication Channels: the service provided by the solution is the final piece to complete Durham's range of communication offerings, ensuring that the city is up-to-date with modern communication channels and technologies.
Strategic Alignment
City of Durham's Strategic Plan Goal:
Goal 3: Connected, Engaged, and Inclusive Communities
Objective 3.3: Expand resident access to digital resources and community programs/services.
Goal 4: Innovative and High Performing Organization
TS Objective 3: Maintain and modernize all the City's assets to align to the evolving and emerging technologies in the marketplace for City's business units
Analysis and Recommended Solution
Analysis
In researching solutions to solve the business problem and associated pain points, it was discovered that chatbots powered by generative AI are being used in both private and public sectors to enable to capabilities requested by Durham One Call.
We believe a Generative AI solution will solve the pain points and provide the future benefits that we are looking for. Therefore, it will increase the business value of Durham One Call to the residents.
Chatbot with Generative AI
• Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence technologies that can generate new content, data, and models based on the training data they have been fed. This includes text, images, videos, and code generation.
• For municipal governments, Generative AI can automate and enhance services, improve decision-making, and foster citizen engagement through personalized and efficient responses.
• AI chatbots for 24/7 citizen inquiries, significantly reducing response times and operational costs. Generative AI can assist in drafting policy documents, legal texts, and reports by providing templates and suggestions.
• AI models can generate simulations and visualizations for urban development projects, aiding in better planning and community engagement. AI can analyze data to predict and simulate emergency scenarios, improving preparedness and response strategies.
• An increasing number of municipal governments are experimenting with or adopting Generative AI solutions for various applications, driven by the need for efficiency and enhanced service delivery. Rapid advancements in AI and machine learning algorithms are making these technologies more accessible and affordable for municipal governments.
• Ensuring the ethical use of data and protecting citizen privacy is paramount. So is ensuring equitable access to AIenhanced services for all citizens, regardless of their digital literacy or access to technology.
• As technology evolves, the integration of AI into more complex government functions and its scalability will be key focus areas. Developing frameworks to govern the ethical use of AI in public services will be crucial.
Concerns and Risks of Generative AI
• Generative AI comes with high cyber security risks such as data poisoning, data leakage, hallucinations and bad-actor leveraging the AI for reconnaissance and hacking attempts.
• Products in the generative AI are rapidly evolving and there are concerns about functionality and architecture of the products being developed run on Generative AI engines such as ChatGPT.
• Ensuring the ethical use of data and protecting citizen privacy is paramount. So is ensuring equitable access to AI-enhanced services for all citizens, regardless of their digital literacy or access to technology.
• The use of AI in public services might raise concerns among residents about surveillance, privacy, and the dehumanization of public services, potentially eroding trust in government.
• It may be challenging to navigate a complex landscape of privacy laws, data protection regulations, and determining liability in cases where AI recommendations lead to harm or loss.
Comparision of Generative AI Chat Solutions
Feature CivicPlus CITIBOT Microsoft Copilot Google Dialogflow CX IBM Watsonx Chatbot.com Price estimate per year $10,400 $19,400 $8,064 $12,096 $23,520 $9,984 Implementation cost No $19,900 TBD TBD TBD TBD Conversational AI Next version only Yes Yes Yes Yes No Multilingual support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Implementation effort Low Medium High High High High * Price based on 28,000 monthly chat sessions with 3 inquiries per session, 2 chats per 1 monthly active user estimate.
Comparative Business Value Analysis Pain Point CivicPlus CITIBOT Microsoft Azure Bot Google Dialogflow IBM Watsonx Chatbot.com Lack of a web chat channel Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Multilingual customer support Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Alleviates Pain Point Does Not Alleviate Pain Point
Recommended
Solution: Issue RFP and do 1-year pilot of Generative AI Chatbot solution
Description
Introduce a conversational AI chatbot within Durham One Call as a pilot test for implementing future AI initiatives across the City. After 1 year of piloting, review results and create another case for longer-term engagement if relevant.
Pros
• Solve an immediate problem of lack of chat channel at One Call
• Identify and address potential issues before full-scale AI rollout
• Give time to prepare a responsible AI use policies and regulations
• Foster collaboration among multiple stakeholders to refine the use of generative AI technology
• Gather valuable feedback from users to inform improvements
• Help manage expectations about the AI's capabilities
Cons
• Concerns and risk regarding using Generative AI
Security Review
The vCISO for the City of Durham has concerns about introducing Generative AI into the City of Durham enterprise, including, but not limited to:
• Potential for data poisoning
• AI hallucinations (providing incorrect information)
• Data leakage
• Bad actors leveraging AI for reconnaissance and hacking attempts
Piloting the solution in a limited scope to give time for evaluation of Generative AI and development of security policies will aid in mitigating this risk.
Architecture Review
The Enterprise Architect Office has several concerns about the functionality and architecture of Generative AI solutions on the market, more specifically around the transparency of the Large Language Models used as the foundation for the technology. The vendor landscape doesn't yet appear mature as companies move to quickly capitalize on the trend.
Recommended Solution - Project Financial Estimate
COST ESTIMATES FUNDING Description Implementation Costs (Hours) Post Implementation Run Costs (Hours)/ KTLO Departmental Funding Amount: $0.00 Labor $ (Hours) Internal TS Department: 90 Hours 30 hours Funding Requested (Y/N): Y Business Analysis 20 hours Internal Labor New FTE – Year 1 Costs $0.00 PMO 40 hours Project One Time Costs (External) $0.00 WAS 20 hours *Total Project Funding Requested for Year 1 $40,000.00 Architecture Office 5 hours 15 hours Cyber Security 5 hours 15 hours Durham One Call 100 hours 150 hours Professional Services $20,000 Non-Labor $ Software-as-a-service subscription: $20,000.00 $0.00 Hardware: $0.00 $0.00 * Total Project Funding Requested Year 1 includes New FTE Labor, External Labor and Non Labor
Risk Identification
Description of Risk Risk Impact (High/Medium/Low) Mitigated (Y/N) Contingency(Y/N) Vendor performance Medium N Y Cyber Security High N Y Project Team Turnover Low N N Poor Execution High N Y
Mitigation Risk (Costs)
• N/A Contingency Risk (Costs)
• We will monitor the solution, and if a risk is identified, the solution will be pulled from production.
Our ask
We ask the IT Governance Steering Committee to approve the business case to issue an RFP and pilot a generative AI chatbot for 1 year within Durham One Call.
After 1 year pilot, TS will bring another business case to the Steering Committee to review for adoption or not.