City launching new RVA311 service today to handle citizen, business, visitor requests

The City of Richmond is rethinking the way it handles citizen, business, and visitor requests across departments. Beginning today, June 15th, the city will launch RVA311, a new portal for submitting everything from pothole reports to graffiti removal.

Requests submitted through the portal will be automatically routed to the appropriate city department.

RVA311 is a brand new and online, cloud-based interface powered by AvePoint Citizen Services for managing citizen, business and visitor requests. This user-friendly application will have a companion mobile app later this month.

The service is designed to improve service delivery and enhance citizen engagement for non-emergency requests. The self-service portal will enable citizens, businesspeople, and visitors to submit service requests by category, and then by specific service need, and provide for images and files to be uploaded as well.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney called this digital transformation of how the city serves constituents “a game changer,” and thanked the four-time Microsoft Partner of the Year Award winner for this technology gifted to the city.

“AvePoint’s investment in Richmond and their technology powering RVA311 will allow us to serve citizens in a far more transparent way that will be both better and faster,” said the mayor. “I encourage Richmonders to utilize this new intelligent reporting tool and to download the mobile app as soon as it becomes available.”

Several core city agencies will be utilizing RVA311 at launch, including the Richmond Police Department, the Departments of Public Works, Public Utilities, Social Services, Finance and the Department of Planning and Development Review. Additional agencies will come on board at a later date. RVA311 will also serve as the operating system for requests submitted by citizens calling 311 or 804.646.7000.

Upon submission of any request, the intelligent system will automatically route it to the appropriate department for review and remedy. Users who provide an email address will receive updates and be notified when the work is completed. There will also be an option for users to create an online account, although it is not required for access. The RVA311 portal will also feature answers to more than 150 frequently asked questions to further assist users.

RVA311 will be managed by the new Department of Citizen Service and Response, which begins operations in July. The new department will be centered on ensuring the city remains “citizen-centric” in its service delivery efforts.

Upon the June 15 launch, the city’s former provider, See-Click-Fix, will no longer be supported by the city for service requests. Residents, businesses, and visitors are also reminded that RVA311 is for non-emergency requests only. 911 should still be called in an emergency.

Check it all out at the official website (the full version of which is not yet up as of press time) here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B4I75ZxHcg