Philadelphia's open data movement recently got stronger by a factor of 311. The city has announced that PublicStuff will produce the long-awaited 311 mobile app to allow citizens to make faster service requests without disrupting city operations.
"The product is already built," says Lily Liu, founder and CEO of PublicStuff. "It's a mobile and web app that integrates with how workers are already working. The staff does not have to change what it does every day. They will still manage work flow and work orders, but it will be a much better experience for the citizen."
Liu adds that the integration piece is essential, and the custom designed app will be fully scalable and integrate with backend solutions.
While PublicStuff is a based in New York with over coverage of over 100 cities nationwide, Liu says PublicStuff will soon be opening a satellite office in Philadelphia, where it got its start with
Good Company Ventures.
"Our original goal was to create something that could be utilized in any city, not necessarily in Philly," she says. "A lot of our mentors and investors are located here."
It was an easy decision to apply for the project once PublicStuff heard about the opportunity, which was a bit of a wait-and-hurry-up situation. While the idea for a 311 mobile app has been kicked around for several years, it was only a matter of weeks from RFP to selection, says Liu, who reports that her company is still finalizing details around the local office.
PublicStuff, with an $18,000, one-year contract from the city, hopes to set up shop here in the fall, and expects to roll out the app by Labor Day 2012.
Source: Lily Liu, PublicStuff
Writer: Sue Spolan