In the wake of the arrival of COVID-19, Metro Government wants to expand its online public services.
Today, Metro Nashville’s departments of Information Technology Services, Codes, Public Works, and Parks and Recreation released a COVID-related technology survey to the community. The survey asks how residents are using Metro Government’s online services with the onset of COVID-19 and how Metro can better serve the needs of residents and visitors. This survey provides an easy way for the community to give feedback, and responses will help provide perspective as Metro engages in visioning and setting the course for future strategies.
Metro’s Director of Parks & Recreation, Monique Horton Odom, stated “COVID-19 has forced each of us to evaluate how we can continue to conduct our lives while working from home or practicing social distancing in public. Metro Government has expanded online services available to the public, but we recognize that we can go further to make more services available anytime and from anywhere.”
Over the past several years, Metro Government has expanded its online service delivery through offerings like hubNashville, which receives over 800 requests a day, on average, a significant increase since March when COVID-19 hit. Metro Codes Director Bill Herbert said, “One of our department’s key goals is improving the permitting process by bringing more parts of the process online.” For Metro Public Works, the goal is to “modernize our delivery of services to the community and to use data to demonstrate how we’re doing,” according to Director Mark Sturtevant.
“Our Connected Nashville community report outlines the array of opportunities we have to expand our civic engagement infrastructure,” said Keith Durbin, Metro’s CIO and Director of the Information Technology Services Department. “This survey will help us incorporate the voice of the community in our plans to more effectively meet residents’ needs using technology and data.”