About this Event
This workshop is to identify project opportunities based on open 311 data sets that residents use to report non-emergency issues to local government.

The focus for our April 2021 event will be 311 data. 311 is a non-emergency phone number that people can call in many cities to find information about services, make complaints, or report problems like graffiti or road damage. The City of Kansas City, MO and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, and Kansas City, KS are both regional leaders in making 311 data open and available to the public and using the data to inform city process and policy.

Research teams from KU and UMKC have made some use of these datasets to help the cities address key problems, but there is a considerable untapped opportunity for new research efforts to improve city services. There are also broader database, structure, and integration opportunities to use multijurisdictional 311 data in a more strategic way.

311 data covers a wide variety of subject areas relevant to resident experience and city services, including property violations, trash, water, traffic, health violations, and much more. KCMO publishes a robust open data repository, while KCK makes use of their data for performance improvement initiatives. We invite attendees interested in working with the city to leverage these datasets for better performance and quality of life.

Collaboration between Local Government and Universities

  • 2:00 – 2:10PM Welcome and introductions
  • 2:10 – 2:30PM Collaboration updates
  • 2:30 – 2:50PM Partnership opportunities

311 Data Deep Dive

  • 2:50 – 3:00PM – What is 311 and why is it important?
  • 3:00 – 3:20PM – Examples outside KC – Rayid Ghani, Carnegie Mellon, founder Data Science for Social Good
  • 3:20 – 3:45PM – Existing local case studies and projects
  • 3:45 – 4:15PM – Panel Q&A with city 311 users
  • 4:15 – 4:30PM – Wrap-up

This workshop is part of a series of events geared towards building new collaborative projects between our university and local government partners. The Greater Kansas City MetroLab Partnership facilitated by KC Digital Drive is one of 35 city-university partnerships that comprise the national MetroLab Network, which focuses on “tech transfer for the public sector.

To Register: