Reimagining Civic Engagement

The Challenge

How might we reimagine the experience of civic engagement in the City of Claremont? Through interviews with City Hall stakeholders and Claremont residents, we uncovered that the biggest barrier to civic engagement wasn't apathy — it was systemic friction.

Messages got lost between departments. Residents felt unheard. City Hall representatives were overwhelmed by fragmented communication channels. The problem wasn't people — it was the system.

Research & Discovery

Over the course of a month, our team conducted empathy interviews with multiple City Hall stakeholders and Claremont residents. We gathered insights about the pain points on both sides of the civic engagement relationship — discovering that the lack of responses often came from within, not from indifference.

"Multiple messages across different channels, things getting lost, inconsistent responses — everything needed to be in one place."

Key Insights

City Hall members were overwhelmed by fragmented communication. Residents were anxious about not getting responses or not feeling heard. Both sides needed transparency, consolidation, and a sense of progress.

The Solution

We designed a digital request tracker — a platform where residents can submit inquiry tickets regarding questions or concerns. From their end, they can view the progress of their ticket through clear stages: received, confirmed, under review, and resolved.

From City Hall's end, representatives can create tickets, enter internal notes, and collaborate across departments — all within a single consolidated system. We also integrated a scheduling feature, inspired by Google Calendar, where representatives can publish available timeslots and residents can book meetings directly.

The entire trajectory — from initial inquiry to resolution — is consolidated into one place to reduce the overwhelming sentiment on both sides.

What's Next

The prototype has been presented to City Hall stakeholders. Next steps include user testing with residents, iterating on the interface based on feedback, and exploring partnerships for implementation.