INNOVATION REPORT Creative Approaches for Better Results
Photovoltaic solar panels at the Atlanta BeltLine’s D.H. Stanton Park provide revenue-generating energy, while also providing shade for park visitors. Photo credit: Christopher T. Martin
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A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR Greetings, I am proud to present the City of Atlanta’s Innovation Report. This report highlights some of the groundbreaking work happening across our city departments to modernize the customer experience, to increase efficiency and to expand critical human services to the most vulnerable. All across our city, we are making remarkable progress to ensure that Atlanta continues to be the capital of the Southeast. From forging public-private partnerships and developing initiatives that support our youth, to launching the world’s first 311 system on the cloud, the work we are doing in Atlanta is not only moving our city forward, but is setting a standard for cities nationwide. Atlanta has long been a city that welcomes and nurtures innovation, and my administration is constantly working to improve the way city government serves our residents, business owners, and visitors. Now, more than ever, our city government has the potential to foster greater civic engagement and collaboration. We have accomplished much together, but let us keep pushing ourselves to think boldly and creatively about how to make Atlanta the best place to live, work and visit. Sincerely,
Kasim Reed
CONTENTS LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR PUBLIC SAFTEY MODERNIZING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Predictive Policing | Atlanta Police Department ............................................................................ 2 EMS Response: Quick Intervention Crew | Atlanta Fire and Rescue .................................. 2 Video Integration Center | Atlanta Police Department .............................................................. 3 E-Citations | Atlanta Municipal Courts ................................................................................................ 4
LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR PUBLIC SAFTEY MODERNIZING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ATL 311 | ATL 311 ........................................................................................................................................... 6 iPARCS Delivering Parks Services Online | Department of Parks and Recreation ..... 7 Free Wi-Fi | Department of Information Technology ................................................................. 8
BUILDING A GREENER, BUILDING MORE A GREENER, RESILIENT MORE CITYRESILIENT CITY Reshaping Downtown with the Atlanta Streetcar | Atlanta Streetcar ................................ 9 Cycle Atlanta | Department of Planning and Community Development ..................... 11 RM Clayton Co-Generation Project | Department of Watershed Management ......... 12 Airport Leads on Lighting | Department of Aviation ................................................................ 13 Big Belly Solar Trash Compactors | Department of Parks and Recreation ................... 14
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LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT Centers Of Hope | Office of the Chief Service Officer .................................................................................. 16 Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge | Mayor’s Office of Sustainability ................................................17 Unsheltered No More | Innovation Delivery Team ........................................ .............................................. 18
FUELING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT & AND A VIBRANT START-UP ECOFUELING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT A VIBRANT START-UP ECO-SYSTEM SYSTEM Start-Up Atlanta | Start-Up Atlanta ......................................................................................................................... 19 Govathon | Start-Up Atlanta ........................................................................................................................................ 20 City Ideas | Innovation Delivery Team ................................................................... ............................................. 21 Code for America | Office of Communications _______________________________________________
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INSTITUTIONALIZING INNOVATION INSTITUTIONALIZING INNOVATION Focus on Results Atlanta .............................................................................................................................................. 24 Innovation Delivery Team ........................................................................................................................................... 24
LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY Atlanta Fire and Police officials are combining state-of-the-art-technology with traditional policing strategies to make Atlanta a safer city for residents, businesses and visitors. I N N O V A T I O N
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PREDICTIVE POLICING (PREDPOL) Imagine thwarting a crime even before it occurs by predicting when and where it will happen. The Atlanta Police Department has gotten pretty close to doing just that. Using the same type of model used to forecast earthquake aftershocks, PredPol relies on real-time crime data to predict crime trends. Every five minutes, data, such as crime type and location, updates into the PredPol algorithm. PredPol, which runs off a secure cloud-based software, then uses
this data to predict where crimes are likely to occur in place-based prediction boxes as small as 500 feet by 500 feet. Officers are then briefed at roll call on what “hot spots� to focus on during their beats each day. During a pilot study, Zone 4 and 6 where Predpol was deployed, saw decreases of 8 and 9 percent respectively in the average number of weekly offenses in comparison to non-pilot locations.
EMS RESPONSE: QUICK INTERVENTION CREW The Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department piloted Quick Intervention Crew (QIC) to improve response times to medical emergencies and increase coverage without having to make significant capital investments. Staffed by a minimum of one paramedic and one Emergency Medical Technician, the smaller, more agile vehicles are dispatched as the primary response unit to basic and advanced life support medical emergencies. The QIC units meet the emergency needs and increase resource availability in high call-volume
territories as well as being considerably more cost-effective than traditional emergency medical service delivery. A pilot station showed a significant performance increase thanks to QIC: the number of incidents met within the standard response time goal went up from 57 percent to 72 percent. Faster response time can mean the difference between life and death. The department has the long-term goal of expanding the QIC model to five units to increase emergency response time performance for all of Atlanta. P A G E
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OPERATION SHIELD: VIDEO INTEGRATION CENTER The Operation Shield Video Integration Center (VIC) expands the Atlanta Police Department surveillance capability by pulling in camera footage from a network of publically and privately owned video cameras. In 2013, the department more than tripled the number of cameras in the system from 679 to 2343. Officers monitor the 24/7 video feeds with state-of-the-art smart analytical software to help zero in on
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suspicious activity and for past incidence gathering. Participation from federal, state and metroAtlanta agencies further enhances the reach and effectiveness of the system. The VIC surveillance network also enhances the city’s general emergency preparedness by enabling police, fire and emergency professionals to better coordinate their response before arriving on the scene of an incident.
E-CITATIONS In a partnership with the Atlanta Police Department, the Department of Information Technology and the Atlanta Municipal Court, the Focus on Results Atlanta (FOR Atlanta) team launched the City's first successful eCitation pilot, automating the City’s citations program. Using a handheld ticketing device, the eCitation software program captures all citation data electronically and transmits it directly into the case management system at the Courts.
The pilot team developed a full-scale implementation plan that will roll out eCitations to APD's Field Operations unit. Once launched, the system will accelerate citation turnaround allowing both courts and citizens to respond and resolve citations almost immediately after a citation has been made.
Video Integration Center
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MODERNIZING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Departments across the City are working hard to leverage technology to make it easier and more convenient for the public to connect with City Hall.
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ATL311 will be one of the first 311 systems in the nation to launch across multiple communication platforms. ATL311 311 systems allow residents to submit non-emergency service requests to the City around the clock. Scheduled to launch in early 2014, ATL311 will integrate technology like no other 311 system before, setting the standard for the next generation of municipal call centers. ATL311 is one of the first, if not the only, 311 system in the nation to launch simultaneously across multiple communication platforms. It will be accessible via phone or the web and across all mobile and smart devices. ATL311 is also one of the first major municipal 311 systems hosted in the cloud. This creates significant technology management efficiencies and positions the system for future scalability.
ATL311 will fundamentally change the way residents interact with city government, enabling them to access all city services and information online and over the phone. The service will be empowered to perform big data performance analytics, so the City can continually improve service intake and delivery for citizens. The Innovation Delivery Team incubated ATL311: recruited leadership, designed the 311 implementation and projectmanaged its execution. In FY14, ATL311 spun off into its own organization.
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iPARCS DELIVERING PARKS SERVICES ONLINE As part of Mayor Kasim Reed’s effort to improve customer service for Atlanta residents, the Department of Parks and Recreation launched iPARCS (the internet Parks, Arts, and Recreation Customer Service portal). The website gives residents 24-hour online access to Parks and Recreation programs and services.
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Since its inception in July 2012, over 25,000 people have registered to use the online service. Residents can now purchase memberships, view and reserve fields and pavilions, and register and pay for seasonal youth and adult programming from home.
FREE WI-FI In early 2013, the Department of Information Technology launched free Wi-Fi in Piedmont and Grant Parks. With up to two or three Mbps at hotspot locations, the service can concurrently provide between 1,000 and 2,000 park visitors with fast and efficient internet connection.
In partnership with Comcast, the Department of Information Technology and the Department of Parks and Recreation also offer free Wi-Fi at ten recreation centers that serve afterschool youth enrolled in Centers of Hope programs.
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BUILDING A GREENER, MORE RESILIENT CITY
Whether it is piloting new ways to procure efficient products, implementing cutting-edge techniques to turn waste into cost savings or accommodating our growing bike community, our departments are stepping it up in creative ways to make Atlanta a greener, more resilient city.
RESHAPING DOWNTOWN WITH THE ATLANTA STREETCAR Set to hit the streets in 2014, the Atlanta Streetcar will transform how we get around and experience Downtown Atlanta. Estimated to support 2,600 riders each weekday, the electric streetcar will provide a more sustainable and viable alternative to buses with less noise and fewer emissions. Ultimately, the Atlanta Streetcar will become part of
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a completely new system of local and regional public transportation. Phase One will provide an important connection between key city landmarks: the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial area, the College Football Hall of Fame and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum.
Atlanta Streetcar
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Mayor Kasim Reed wants to double the number of commuters taking bikes to work. The City is working hard to meet this goal by building out 26 high priority bicycle projects.
CYCLE ATLANTA In 2013, the City of Atlanta finished the first two of 26 new projects that will enhance bicycle safety and increase access for cyclists. To ensure that city bike plans reflect the needs of the growing cycling community, the Department of Planning and Community Development forged a partnership with Georgia Tech to develop the crowd-sourcing app Cycle Atlanta. Cycle Atlanta tracks where cyclists travel to give the City an idea of
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where, when and how people are biking. It also allows the user to log spots that cause trouble—such as a row of cars parked in a bike lane— and locations with services or amenities, such as coffee shops with public bathrooms. Cities around the country have been looking to Atlanta to learn about how the city has effectively engaged the bike community to build smart transportation solutions.
R M C L AY T O N CO G E N E R AT I O N P R OJ E C T The R.M. Clayton Wastewater Treatment Plant, in northwest Atlanta, flared excess methane gas during operations—wasting highenergy fuel—but the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and the Department of Watershed Management have collaborated to solve this problem. In 2012, the plant was equipped with a combustion engine that converts waste biogas into nearly 13 million kilowatt-hours of useful energy annually. The system also captures more than 39,000 million Btu of waste heat and uses it as process energy for the anaerobic digesters.
The project converts waste energy and waste heat into electrical and heating supplements, saving upwards of $700,000 a year by providing power for the primary wastewater treatment processes. Once additional project elements are complete, plant operators expect the energy savings to exceed the current 20 percent savings mark. The success of the project has also propelled Atlanta closer to its sustainability goals by reducing its energy footprint by 3 percent this year alone.
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THE AIRPORT LEADS ON LIGHTING Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport became the first airport to launch a head-to-head lighting manufacturer competition to evaluate, select and procure reduced energy facility lighting. Led by the Creative Innovations team at the Airport, the competition invited major lighting manufacturers from across the US to showcase their LED lighting technologies. Presented with a suite of offers, the Airport was able to identify the most energy
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efficient lighting strategies for its North and South Public Parking Garages. The energy savings resulting from the new lighting system will gross well over $500,000 each year. The team is now evaluating the possibility of expanding the LED lighting program to the Passenger Terminal Complex, in addition to other airport areas.
BIG BELLY SOLAR TRASH COMPACTORS Keeping streets litter-free is a challenge for all big cities. The Department of Parks and Recreation launched the BigBelly™ Solar Trash compactor program to tackle this challenge head-on. BigBelly trash compactors take up no more space than a regular outdoor trash container, but by automatically compacting trash with solar power, they can hold five times the capacity of regular bins. This year, the installation of 21 units in Piedmont Park helped the City reduce collections from an average of 17 per week to just one. Each BigBelly trash compactor operates for a week on the energy it takes to make a pot of coffee and holds up to five times the volume of ordinary trash receptacles—about 150 gallons
before compaction. This, coupled with the fact that the bins operate for a year on the energy it takes to drive a trash truck one mile, means the City will substantially reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants to our environment. In late 2013, the Department of Parks and Recreation received a matching grant from the Kendeda fund to increase the number of waste receptacles currently in our city parks. This grant will allow the department to exchange 254 traditional bins with 220 Big Belly Solar waste and recycling units. The department hopes to start deploying the new receptacles in the first quarter of 2014.
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Afterschool Activity at a Center of Hope
LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT The City works closely with public and private organizations to move the needle on a variety of social and environmental issues that are critical for preserving and enhancing public safety, quality-of-life and access to opportunity for all of our residents. These partnerships are expanding the City’s reach into the community, bringing in external expertise and opening up new financing opportunities. I N N O V A T I O N
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Through partner support, the City has been able to raise more than $5 million in private resources to support the Centers of Hope. CENTERS OF HOPE The progress made on youth development through the Centers of Hope initiative illustrates how strategic partnerships across the public and private sectors can drive tangible change in some of the city’s most critical service areas. In 2010, Mayor Kasim Reed convened a diverse group of leaders outside of City Hall to drive recommendations and collaborative action to re-open shuttered recreation centers and develop leading afterschool programming for Atlanta’s urban youth. From concept through to final execution, The Atlanta Mayoral Board of Service (AMBS), an advisory body of dedicated philanthropic, non-profit, education, community, and business
leaders, worked with City leaders and provided critical leadership, financing, technical assistance and pro-bono services to the Centers of Hope. In 2013, the City of Atlanta formalized a collaborative partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and Atlanta Public Schools (APS). The Boys & Girls Clubs plans and delivers all youth programming at four of the ten Centers of Hope. They leverage academic data from APS with their own metrics of character development to drive collaborative planning between inclass and afterschool programming.
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THE ATLANTA BETTER BUILDINGS CHALLENGE The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (BBC) is a nation-leading . public/private initiative. Led locally by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability in partnership with local community improvement districts, the goal of the Atlanta BBC is to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by 2020. In 2011, the first year of the challenge, Atlanta became the first city to complete its showcase project: the Atlanta Civic Center.
Retrofits to the Civic Center have reduced facility energy use by 25 percent, and are saving the city $200,000 annually in utility costs. To date, over 120 commercial facilities from downtown to Buckhead (equating to 65 million square feet of floor space) have committed to the challenge. More than 20 of the Atlanta BBC participants have already reached the 20 percent reduction goal in either energy or water consumption.
Photo Credit: Dustin Chambers Volunteer Interviewing Homeless Man for the Atlanta Homeless Registry
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UNSHELTERED NO MORE With leadership from Mayor Kasim Reed, Unsheltered No More is an effort led by the Innovation Delivery Team to improve cross-agency collaboration and community partnership around homelessness and to set Atlanta on a path to meeting the federal government’s goal of ending chronic and veteran homelessness by 2015.
Unsheltered No More’s coordinated strategy. In January 2013, the Innovation Delivery Team organized the city’s first-ever homeless registry, a volunteer-driven effort to help community service providers identify individuals with the highest health vulnerability, matching them with housing and services appropriate to their individual needs.
Between May 2012 and December 2013, over 1022 people moved into housing with rental subsidies and supportive services through
The Team’s efforts have streamlined the intake and assessment process across multiple programs to create a seamless continuum of services.
Unsheltered No More placed over 1022 homeless people, including 754 veterans and their family members, in permanent housing with supportive services.
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Start-up Atlanta map listing locations of start-up activity in Atlanta
FUELING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND A VIBRANT STARTUP ECOSYSTEM Every major technology hub has a city government that supports and welcomes innovation. Atlanta is working hard to build an ecosystem that not only supports entrepreneurs in our city, but entrepreneurs within City Hall. I N N O V A T I O N
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START UP ATLANTA Big, bold ideas are taking root in Atlanta, and Startup Atlanta is helping them grow and thrive. In 2011, Invest Atlanta, the City’s economic development arm, brought together key players in the startup community to discuss how Atlanta can strengthen its position as a nationally and internationally recognized place for innovation and entrepreneurship. Startup Atlanta, an independent non-profit, was born out of these talks and sits at the intersection of Atlanta's private sector, public corporate community, government and thriving university
system. Building on core values of advocacy, communication, and measurement, the vision is to collaborate with all interested parties to build Startup Atlanta as the portal into Atlanta's vast entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem. As a first step, Startup Atlanta has a website that serves as the meeting point for the start-up community. The site lists deal-flow, maps where businesses are located and highlights start-up events across the city.
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City officials and coders gathered in the Old Council Chamber for the first Govathon
G OVAT H O N A marathon of creativity and innovation took over City Hall twice in 2013 to help make Atlanta a better place to live and work.
system to remind residents about trash pickups, GPS tracking for school bus pick-up times, and a crime prediction app.
Programmers, designers, and students participated in City Hallsponsored hackathons. Representatives from City Hall, Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Police Department teamed up with Startup Atlanta to challenge coders, computer programmers and app-developers to make city data more accessible and useful to the public and city departments.
The team that won second place at the first Govathon contributed to a program to help residents and visitors use park services. Today, Park Find is a fully active website where you can search the city's 352 greens paces and filter for picnic tables, tennis courts, dog parks and many other services.
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The City will continue to engage the tech community to develop innovative ways to enhance city services.
CITY IDEAS With the support of the Innovation Delivery Team, Mayor Kasim Reed launched City Ideas to spur innovative thinking at all levels of city government. City Ideas challenged city employees to share their best ideas on how to reduce waste, cut red tape and save money for the city.
A team of employees from across the city graded the 370 submitted ideas based on feasibility, sustainability, impact and popularity. The top idea will receive a cash award up to $25,000, based on cost savings and/or other positive impacts generated by the idea for the City.
CODE FOR AMERICA Code for America selected Atlanta, along with nine other cities, to receive a year of product and software design support in 2014. Code of America fellows will work with the Innovation Delivery Team
and the Communications Office to take advantage of existing city data sets and help develop user-friendly technology to improve city operations and service delivery.
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CITIZENS AND CITY EMPLOYEES share their ideas with the administration through various tools including Neighborhood Planning Unit meetings, surveys, Govathons, and City Ideas.
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innovate THE INNOVATION DELIVERY TEAM helps departments identify and engineer creative solutions to complex challenges and facilitates multidepartmental change.
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DEPARTMENTS execute innovative initiatives and have the support of FOR Atlanta and the Innovation Delivery Team to drive change and progress based on data and best practice research.
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FOCUS ON RESULTS ATLANTA works to track and analyze citywide data and partner with departments to drive performance on key initiatives, delivering tangible results.
INSTITUTIONALIZING I N N O VAT I O N The City of Atlanta has set up a robust framework that helps the Mayor’s Office and city departments drive innovation and results. The Innovation Delivery Team and Focus on Results Atlanta sit under the COO’s office. Together they help departments deliver operational and programmatic improvements with a focus on performance management. THE INNOVATION DELIVERY TEAM drives progress on mayoral priorities by delivering high-impact solutions to Atlanta’s most pressing needs. The team brings a rigorous focus to identifying, designing and implementing powerful solutions to major urban challenges selected by the Mayor. To date, the team’s focus includes reducing homelessness and improving customer service, including seeding ATL311. FOCUS ON RESULTS ATLANTA (FOR ATLANTA) drives measurable improvements across departments. FOR Atlanta couples advanced data analysis with hands-on operations support and expertise. This dual approach to performance allows the team to set measurement frameworks and put mechanisms in place to achieve targeted improvements.
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ATL311 Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department Atlanta Police Foundation Atlanta Streetcar Chief Service Officer Department of Parks and Recreation Department of Planning and Community Development Department of Public Works Department of Watershed Management Focus on Results Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Invest Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability Mayor’s Office of Communications Start-up Atlanta Unsheltered No More The Innovation Report was issued by the COO’s office and compiled by the Innovation Delivery Team. For more information visit www.atlantaga.gov