Local Governments

Governments of all levels, federal, state, and local, have their unique share of challenges to handle. Local governments, such as those responsible for running counties, towns, and cities, provide a wide range of essential services to residents of those locales. These services, such as organizing public events, providing emergency response, maintaining public spaces, and managing education at the direction of the state, are vital to the well-being of any community. The broad range of tasks that must be handled by local governments makes efficiency-boosting measures attractive, especially if they are cost-effective.

         One of the main factors that plays into the effectiveness of a local government is its relationship with the people it serves. A local government that has a good relationship with the residents of the area it manages is much more likely to be successful at improving the community. A good relationship, which could be defined as high participation in public events and effective communication between the government and the people, often takes time and effort to build. A good starting point for improving public relations is to increase the amount of communication that takes place, as well as improve its quality. Local governments do try to communicate with the people they regularly serve; otherwise, performing their duties might be impossible. Most local governments use newsletters, announcements on their websites, or letters to residents to communicate. This approach can sometimes be useful, but it does come with its share of drawbacks. For one, all of these methods of communication are somewhat one-directional and do not offer an excellent response capability for those who receive them. These types of messages are also ignored by many people; they can often be regarded as nuisances or not valuable.