Awards

For Wichita, the past year in tech and innovation has involved both cost-saving work and exciting new pilot projects, with some overlap between. In the first group, the central IT shop has done a number of things, including outfitting city vehicles with GPS, which has enabled the city to use data to enhance efficiency. This, Wichita estimates, saved $120,000 last year, and will continue to do so annually. IT staff in Wichita also began upgrading existing computers rather than purchasing replacements, which officials estimate saved more than $140,000. It may not be flashy, but this work is at the heart of gov tech for cities.

Wichita also has a list of pilot programs and completed work, including public kiosks that enable easier interactions with the city, gunshot detection tech, law enforcement analytics, online payment consolidation and more. The city brought more of its services online, including an emergency rental assistance form. Collaboration, meanwhile, played a vital role in Wichita, both with government partners as well as the private sector. One example is a fiber-sharing agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation, which netted Wichita faster Internet. Another example is working with T-Mobile on a partnership around Wi-Fi hot spots to boost digital equity. There is also a growing relationship between the city and the startup community. Wichita has worked to find tech startups that can help with civic challenges. This, so far, has included work on a citizen engagement platform with Citizen Lab, and a project with Qwall to aid women and minority-owned small businesses during the pandemic.

Located in south-central Kansas, the city of Wichita takes seventh place in its population category. Populated by an estimated 390,000 residents, the city prioritizes citizen engagement, cybersecurity, and data management. Wichita’s efforts to provide transparency and engagement opportunities for its citizens should be noted. The city’s ICT Data Portal is the community’s platform that allows the public to download open data. The portal aims to help build “a smarter Wichita,” also allowing citizens to discover and build apps as a way to engage with local issues. The city’s user-friendly AccessWichita is another noteworthy accomplishment that allows the public to view important information quickly, including urgent COVID-19 updates.

Over the last year, the city grappled with an uptick in copper theft from city-owned facilities and public parks. In response, Wichita partnered with local IT company Viaanix to deploy Internet of Things sensors to prevent copper theft and potentially save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The city also continues to grow in the area of cybersecurity. The IT Department’s five-year strategic plan and efforts to train all staff on the importance of digital security show the city’s commitment to safeguarding systems from future cyberthreats.

The Center for Digital Government (CDG) has named the City of Wichita a 2019 Digital Cities Survey winner. The survey recognizes cities using technology to tackle social challenges, enhance services, strengthen cybersecurity and more. The survey honors cities in five population classifications: 500,000 or more, 250,000 to 499,999; 125,000 to 249,999; 75,000 to 124,999 and fewer than 75,000. Wichita placed 4th in the 250,000 to 499,999 category.

City of Wichita was recognized for innovative work in the following areas among others:

• Gun Shot Detection program
• Copper theft prevention
• Public-private partnerships for future smart city implementations including a partnership with Evergy
• Hot spots to provide connectivity to residents through neighborhood resource centers
• Partnerships with Friends University on cyber-security
• Wichita State University partnership on data and analytics
• T-Mobile partnership on fleet monitoring
• Kansas Department of Transportation partnership on fiber sharing
  

Here is a list of winners below in the 250,000 to 499,999 category:

1. City of Miami, FL
2. City of Durham, NC
3. City of Virginia Beach, VA
4. City of Wichita, KS
5. City of Kansas City, MO and City of Plano, TX (tie)
6. City of Madison, WI
7. City of Long Beach, CA
8. City of Henderson, NV
9. City of Chandler, AZ
10. City of Greensboro, NC and City of Riverside, CA (tie)

Route 50 Navigator Awards Finalist (top 10)

The fourth annual Navigator Awards honors 50 individuals and teams either working in or with state, county and municipal governments in the United States who demonstrated their ability to implement a great idea that improves public sector services and the communities they serve.

The City of Wichita's IT Department was nominated for the Tech Innovator award for its work with LoRaWAN Technology, our Copper Theft Detection System, Gunshot Detection System.

Data is at the center of just about everything happening in Wichita. Projects are prioritized based on the value they provide to local residents and daily operations. For example, rather than rolling out gunshot detection systems across the entire city — a costly endeavor — city staff look to GIS heatmaps to determine where they are likely needed the most. An advisory council helps city leaders and IT staff take a “realistic view” of local needs and feasible solutions. The city is also focused on improving performance while saving taxpayer dollars through zero-based budgeting and reassessment of existing resources. Recently, an inventory gave staff new insights into programs and allowed for a reappraisal of what was needed and what was not.

When it comes to keeping city operations transparent, Wichita is no stranger to sharing information. Code for America, local media and Wichita State University are all part of a data steering committee that helps staff to publish high-value data sets. To date, 70 of the most common records requests have been published to save staff time and provide ease of access. In September 2018, the city embarked on a mission to replace its CRM to better allow for data mining.

Like in many other cities across the United States, the need for access to the Internet has prompted aggressive action. This year alone, efforts to expand the broadband network resulted in a 171 percent growth rate. Over the course of the next two years, officials anticipate connectivity will jump by 762 percent.

IT officials are also excited about the potential for an AI chatbot they feel will improve the interface between the city — specifically the website — and residents. There is also potential for augmented reality to help utility staff locate underground power and water infrastructure. In a similar vein, the city and Wichita State University are working on a project to improve wayfinding for the visually impaired.

Fourth-place finisher Wichita put two Wichita State University students to work developing its citizen reporting app, Wichita Report, a 311-style tool that’s snagged 900 downloads without any promotion. The city displayed similar resourcefulness in partnering with the local Code for America brigade to come up with a strategic open data program that releases data assets of particular value to local developers and students most likely to turn them into useful apps. A new snowplow tracking site helps residents navigate snowy winters by tracking and mapping the paths of snow-clearing vehicles, while other improvements include a streamlined e-citation system for law enforcement and high-speed fiber that runs through the city’s storm sewer system. The connectivity boost will help Wichita effectively transmit police bodycam video to its cloud provider that will store the footage from the 600 cameras expected to be in use by the end of 2015.