The city of Córdoba is one of the largest municipalities in Argentina. It covers almost 576 square kilometers with a population of more than 1.5 million citizens. Governance is complex and efficiency and coordination are key to ensure state resources are arrive on time and where needed.

The main objective of App Ciudadana is to provide citizens with a simple and transparent tool through where they can lodge their complaints regarding problems that occur in public spaces to the Municipal Government.

A security analysis and performance tests were carried out to ensure privacy policies were working. To check user experience and operational responses a pilot test was carried out.

The final objective was the launch of the App and the implementation of a communication plan for it.

Initially, the project identified the main complaints citizens regularly made to the municipal government, in order to incorporate them in the first version of App Ciudadana. The intention was to engage and involve the audience. This is why complaints that were regularly made were selected first, such as public lighting, potholes in asphalt and park maintenance.

Different municipal departments joined the system, each with its own process. Some of them quickly adopted the system while others had to make changes to their original processes. Different implementation strategies were undertaken. Joint work meetings, new workflows and commitment roadmaps were some of the tasks led by the implementation team. Constant dialogue was key for addressing any emerging issues.

To that end the Digital Transformation team collaborated with each area to create categories with sufficient information for the area to determine the type of work its solution would entail and simple enough for a citizen (with no technical background) to understand.

The App has a friendly user interface that includes a series of icons and questions which guide the citizen to select the correct category for the problem it has encountered. The same methodology was later carried out to include issues on problems with public trees, sewage overflow, traffic lights, garbage disposal and landfills.

Responsibility is key to ensure that every incident reported receives proper attention To that aim, clear administrative and operative teams were established. An administrative resolution was passed to institutionalize the App Ciudadana System as the system that centralizes claims and requests.

As to the development of Mobile Apps and Systems, agile management strategies was the favored methodology, making incremental changes in iterations of 2-week periods. Public-Private alliance was key to guarantee an agile and adaptive development.

For its login, App Ciudadana utilizes public digital identity provided by the Province Government which guarantees that reports will not be lodged under false pretenses. Here, the project profited from existing services. Collaboration with other levels of government proved fruitful in various instances.

Prior to its launch, a group of citizens were selected to test the system. Neighborhood Council members were tasked with registering different complaints/requests and reporting the response and performance of the App. This allowed a first evaluation of the system, correcting errors and functionalities. Later in the testing stages, employees from decentralized administrative offices (CPC - Communal Participation Centres) conducted neighborhood surveys using App Ciudadana.

All the data generated through the App Ciudadana System is then displayed in business intelligence dashboards that are available to the public, as well as decision makers. Through this data, the project can measure the time of response and efficiency rate. All this information is processed and facilitated by the Digital Transformation Observatory.

In later stages, the project incorporated decentralized call centers and reception desks to guarantee that this digital transformation process was inclusive to the elderly or other disadvantaged groups who had no access to digital tools.

The development of App Ciudadana was financed by the Planning, Modernization and International Relations Secretariat with public funds. The project was coordinated by the Digital Transformation Centre of that Secretariat.

For the app’s development, a public tender was held and a local GovTech startup was awarded the opportunity to provide the mobile app for the citizens, the mobile app for the operative crews and the web platform for administrative work.

Since the first test was launched in 2021, there have been 146000 requests/claims lodged. Currently, more than 105000 claims/requests have been resolved of which more than 77000 included a photograph of a job well done. This corresponds to an “efficiency rate” of 76%.

Compared to previous claim submissions systems the time of response has dropped from 60 to 30 days.

For the claims/requests that were solved, the user approval rate is 4.28 stars out of five.

Approximately 7910 users have downloaded the app on their digital devices.

Internal adoption of digital tools is one of the main challenges faced, since App Ciudadana’s main appeal is that users can receive updates on the state of the complaint they made. For that to happen, all administrative and operative members were trained in the management system. In the ideal circumstances the operative crew is tasked with registering the solution of the problem.

Another barrier is the lack of proper equipment and good connectivity. In many cases the public buildings where operational branches of government are located are areas with poor connectivity. This constitutes a serious obstacle since remedying this issue requires significant financial investment in infrastructure.

From the massive digital transformation process that has been executed, one of most important lessons learned is the importance of collaborative work with the different areas and actors involved. This has allowed the City to co-create an integrated solution that optimizes the citizen's experience with the municipality.

A second lesson learned was how important these digital tools are for monitoring the operative action in the solution of citizen’s requirements. Since its implementation, these areas have incorporated data collected in their internal management and decision-making process.