Civic Tech (7)

What is Civic Tech?

Civic technology, or civic tech, enhances the relationship between the people and government with software for communications, decision-making, service delivery, and political process. Civic Technology is the term given to any form of innovative technology used in the public sphere to impact society positively.

What are some examples of Civic Technology?

While there are hundreds of civic tech companies across the globe, here’s a list of a few of our favourites! BangTheTable is a civic tech company with the goal of developing constructive relationships between communities and the institutions of government through public participation. Crowdpac is a crowdfunding organisation that allows citizens to donate to their preferred political candidates and increase the number of people involved in the political process. Cortico looks to give a voice to those underrepresented in policymaking and the media through the use of their Local Voice Network (LVN). Similarly, at Hello Lamp Post our technology allows people to have two-way ‘chats’ with their surroundings, providing people with key local information while gathering important perceptions, opinions and ideas. Hello Lamp Post helps increase participation and engagement in local decision making.

What is a Civic company?

Civic technology companies are platforms, products, and services that facilitate civic engagement. An organisation such as Hello Lamp Post for example facilitates civic engagement helping cities better understand their citizens.

What is the best definition of Civic engagement?

Civic engagement is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. It means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference.

What is the difference between Civic education and government classes?

Government class covers topics such as the three divisions of government, how a proposal becomes law and the Electoral College. Civic education on the other hand includes learning the skills and attitudes necessary to be an informed and engaged citizen. Civic education includes practice in collaboration, cooperation, and consensus-building, as well as an understanding of the responsibilities that accompany your basic rights as a citizen.

What effect has COVID-19 had on Civic Tech?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to as the “lubricant” for development in Civic Technology, creating a window of opportunity for advancements in this area. There has been a significant rise in Civic Tech projects globally as a direct response to the pandemic, organisations such as Code for Japan, Code for Germany and Code for Pakistan all launching several projects in response to the virus. We’ve already seen Civic tech initiatives across Africa implemented as a direct response to the pandemic; the Civic Tech Innovation Network referenced at least 140 enterprises across the continent. Civic Technologists also created a comprehensive COVID-19 data platform available at global.health.

How can you be a civically engaged citizen?

There are several ways to be civically engaged in your local community. These include things like keeping up to date with local politics, volunteering in the area, shopping local and supporting local shops, facilities and heritage sites, looking after your neighbourhood and local area, and engaging with the local council and citizens.

What is GovTech?

GovTech encompasses a wider range of actions to make the public sector more innovative, agile, and development-oriented. Govtechfund defines Govtech “as the technology infrastructure that government departments use to do their internal work or deliver services” to citizens.

When was GovTech formed?

What we define as GovTech can differ to great extents and for this reason pinpointing its origins can be quite difficult. The best example would probably be post WW2 when the American government set up a number of ad hoc university based, R&D organisations around specific technological programs such as radar and the computer

How does technology impact the government?

Web 2.0’ companies such as Google, Facebook and Wikipedia have harnessed the power of their users to add value and co-creation. Similarly, governments are now beginning to tap the knowledge and opinions of citizens to harness this same added value and co-creation through technology; this has been referred to as government 2.0. This type of smart governance involves government bodies leveraging ICT to better interact with citizens and take a more data-driven decision-making approach. Find out more about how governments are leveraging technology to connect with residents at Hello Lamp Post.

Is GovTech a statutory board?

The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) is a Statutory Board under the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) in the Prime Minister’s Office.

What is the centre for Digital Government?

The Center for Digital Government (CDG) is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government.

What’s the difference between Civic Tech and GovTech?

There are subtle differences between Civic Tech and GovTech, according to Wietse Van Ransbeeck of Citizenlab. GovTech includes a range of technologies provided to governments to achieve efficiency of their internal operations; Civic Tech, on the other hand, focuses on informing citizens, connecting them and encouraging the public to engage with the government.

What is Citizen Participation Technology (CPT)

Citizen Participation Technology (CPT) is any technology that encourages citizens to contribute to their local area/community/town or city. In a smart city context, participatory mechanisms or technologies allow citizens to engage with the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies

How can digital technology involve citizens in political and economic decision-making?

Digital Technologies such as Civic Tech have been shown to inform decision-making in local governments by gathering citizen sentiment on important issues, allowing for data-driven decision making apprised by those who matter most, the people. Civic Technology also creates greater governmental transparency through the use of open data. Moreover, civic tech allows for typically underrepresented segments of society to voice their opinions on crucial public matters.

What are some examples of citizen participation technology?

Traditional methods of engaging the public would involve surveys or public forums often held in the town centre or canvas around the local area. Recent innovations in Citizen Participatory Technology (CPT) have seen these engagement methods become digitised – the increased presence of the local council on social media networks or an app-based forum to comment on specific community issues.

What is the cost-cutting motive behind using technology?

According to researchers, innovation contributes to achieving competitive advantages. The most important characteristics of innovations include: A strong relationship between market performance and new products.

What are the three types of citizen participation?

Researchers highlight that citizen participation can take many forms. This includes voting, referendums, municipality or community assembly, public discussion and public presentations, to name but a few.

What is Open Data?

Open Data is the idea that data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents, or other control mechanisms. A core concept of civic tech is the facilitation of open data, supporting the democratic process, creating a citizen-centric approach to the government.

How can citizens participate in local democracy?

One of the best ways citizens can participate in local democracy is by sharing their opinions regarding local issues, and adding their voice to the decision making process. These activities facilitate a citizen-centric approach to decision making for local authorities, where their policies and decisions are data driven, influenced by the voice of the local residents. A great example of this two way dialogue comes from West Ealing, London where local residents used technology to give their opinions on proposed infrastructural changes to the community, as part of the Liveable Neighbourhood programme.

How does India use smart governance?

The Urban Development Mission for 500 Indian cities targets the provision of drinking water, sewerage and waste management. They’ve also promised to deliver ‘Housing for All’ by 2022 will also ensure that each house is equipped with a toilet.

What is the full form of smart governance?

Smart governance is about utilising technology to facilitate and support better planning and decision making. Areas such as e-government, efficiency agenda and mobile working are constructs of smart governance. The acronym SMART in this context refers to Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent Governance.

Is smart governance a characteristic of a smart city?

Yes, smart governance is one of the core characteristics of smart cities; smart governance involves using technology better to align government processes with the needs of the people.

What are the components of smart governance?

According to research smart governance is governance based on; smart ICT, smart external collaboration and participation, smart internal coordination, smart decision-making processes, smart e-administration and smart outcomes. Some of the main outcomes smart governance attempts to achieve are economic growth, citizen-centric services, social inclusion, ecological performance, interaction with citizens and a more efficient government.

How can citizens participate in local government?

At present citizens usually participate with local governments through public forums where they can voice their concerns about certain matters that are troubling them. The issue with this form of civic participation is that it doesn’t provide an accurate reflection of the feelings of the entire community.

What is a 21st century city?

A 21st century city is defined by Professor Michael Keith as a city that is more ambitious about the possibilities of intervention in the metropolis while being more modest about recognising the challenge. This city uses combinations of culture and nature, infrastructure and agency, economy and society.

What do you understand about e-governance?

Electronic governance (or e-governance) is the application of information technology (IT) to deliver government services, communication transactions, exchange of information and the integration of several systems between governments, businesses and citizens. See how Hello Lamp Post is connecting governments to their citizens in a unique and playful way here.

What is the difference between e government and e governance?

By e-Government we mean the use of ICT in government operations, as a tool to increase the outreach of the government services. e-Governance, on the other hand, implies the use of ICT in transforming and supporting functions and structures of the system.

Civic Engagement Technology (19)

What is civic engagement?

Civic Engagement can be described as “individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concerns”, civic engagement incorporates a wide range of activities, including individual voluntarism to electoral participation.

What is digital civic engagement?

Digital civic engagement can include digital instances of the conventional characteristics of civic engagement such as researching and circulating news online, writing emails to elected representatives and community organisations. Digital advancements in civic engagement facilitate greater transparency through open data, support the democratic process and creates a citizen-centric approach to the government, enabling public inclusion in the decision-making process. Organisations such as Hello Lamp Post are leading the way in this space, revolutionising the concept of civic engagement by digitising the interaction between organisations and their community. This immersive digital experience encourages engagement amongst the public and the physical environment, a valuable resource for local governments in interacting with residents.

How can technology help in civic engagement and political socialisation?

Participatory Technologies allow citizens to engage with the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies. For example, Hello Lamp Post’s chat-based technologies aggregate user’s sentiment, creating a feedback loop between citizens and local authorities, allowing for co-creation in urban planning and human-centric cities.

How can you be a civically engaged citizen?

According to Youth.Gov there are four constructs for a civically engaged citizen. (i) Civic Action; involves participation in activities such as volunteering or service learning to better the community (ii) Civic Commitment or Duty; a willingness to make a positive contribution to society, (iii) Civic Skills; the ability to get involved in civic society, politics and democracy and Social Cohesion; a feeling of reciprocity, trust and bonding with others.

How does technology affect citizen participation?

Citizen participatory technologies such as smart street furniture facilitate alignment between citizens and governments, allowing for a citizen-centric approach to smart cities. Citizen participatory technology gives citizens a chance to voice their opinions and concerns, creating a more data-driven approach to government level decision-making.

What are some examples of civic engagement?

Voting, volunteering, participating in group activities and community initiatives are all examples of civic engagement. Hello Southwark, for example, was a collaborative initiative with Southwark Council, looking to reimagine public spaces and engage the community on the issue of Climate Change. This project allowed citizens to have their say on climate action.

What are the benefits of civic engagement?

Firstly, it helps understand citizens’ needs better as you allow them to share their concerns freely. Secondly, potential problems can be identified and addressed quickly. Thirdly, it offers the opportunity for co-creation, which results in community support for new policies.

Why is civic engagement important?

Civic engagement is the foundation of a democratic society. It combines two fundamental components of the democratic process, a person’s individual liberty, and public good. By actively engaging in government incentives citizens can shape how their community is formed in a design that satisfies the needs of a large proportion of that community.

What are the eight types of civic engagement?

Activism/Advocacy, Civic Learning, Community Service/Volunteerism, Service Learning, Community-Engaged Internship, Philanthropy/Fundraising, Political Engagement and Community-Engaged Research.

What does civic activities mean?

A civic activity encompasses a wide range of both formal and informal activities. One of the most common civic activities would be taking part in the census. In essence, it is any action taken that can provide value to a governing body.

Is voting civic engagement?

Yes, voting is considered a form of civic engagement.

Why is civic engagement important for youth?

Civic engagement amongst young people is extremely important for a variety of reasons. Developing healthy civic habits from a young person increases the likelihood that young people will continue these activities into later life. The younger demographic also have a unique perspective on local issues, and their opinion and collaboration are essential to bringing new ideas to the conversation.

How does your local government help your community?

Obviously every local government is different but common activities amongst all local governments would be making important decisions that impact the health of their citizens in: community planning and the built environment, parks and recreation facilities and their programming, health related policies, and partnerships.

What are civic duties?

Civic duties relate to a concept known as civic responsibility which can be defined as the activities a citizens is expected to perform to be a contributing member of society,

What are civic issues?

Civic Issues are problems that are experienced by a large number of constituents in a particular community. Civic issues are usually brought to light in public forums but we’re seeing a trend towards more alternative methods that allow for a more comprehensive reflection on current civic issues.

What are the seven citizenship skills?

• Skill 1: Cooperation – “We The People” not we the individuals; work together as a group.
• Skill 2: Patience – A “More Perfect Union” meaning to take steps towards a better situation.
• Skill 3: Fairness – “Establish Justice” to consider the common good as well as individual desires.
• Skill 4: Respect – “Ensure domestic tranquility” to accept your fellow citizens.
• Skill 5: Strength – “Provide for the common defense” to stand up for what is right, denounce what is wrong, and admit your mistakes.
• Skill 6: Self-Improvement – “promote the general welfare” to seek knowledge and skills.
• Skill 7: Balance – “Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” meaning to support our ideals of freedom, equality, and unity by harmonizing or compromising solutions to our problems.

How to teach civic engagement?

Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, calls for civic education in 21st Century Schools. Mrs Winthrop describes schools as the catalyst to increase civic engagement – helping young people develop the knowledge, beliefs and behaviours required to engage in a civic lifestyle.

How to increase civic engagement?

There isn’t one sure fire way to ensure an increase in civic engagement but our research and multiple other studies have recognised some critical success factors in civic engagement projects. Firstly the concept in which you want people to engage should be relevant and interesting to them. Concepts that aren’t aligned with the concerns of the public will not be engaged with. Secondly our research has shown that if the medium on which to engage is easy to use, perceived to be easy to use while simultaneously fun and playful it has a much higher likelihood of being engaged with.

What is civic Service?

Any service that is delivered by the government to the public.

What are the four pillars of community engagement?

The four pillars of community engagement include People, Practice, Policy and Performance.

What are the techniques of community engagement?

Traditional forms of community engagement often included town hall meetings, public hearings and surveying. However, conventional means of public engagement are no longer sufficient in attaining meaningful citizen input to policy and decision making. These types of engagement methods have come under criticism for their inaccessibility, timelines and representation of the broader demographic of modern society. This situation has led local governments to seek alternative means to engage with their community. Hello Lamp Post, for example, have worked with several local authorities to address this shortcoming; their chat-based technologies aggregate user’s sentiment, creating a feedback loop between citizens and local authorities, allowing for co-creation in urban planning and human-centric cities.

What is community engagement theory?

Community engagement is the process of “working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people”.

How to engage college students?

Engaging students has long been a challenge for higher education institutions. With today’s youth becoming more and more reliant on technology, engaging students where they already are can help to bridge the communication gap. That is, engaging students digitally in innovative ways that will ensure higher engagement. So whether that be social media, online forums or Hello Lamp Post’s engagement platform, it is important that higher education institutions develop a more digitally-focused engagement strategy that is forward-thinking.

How do college students engage?

From our research we have found that the most common forms of engagement are using social media and emails. However, these methods are not perfect and a more innovative and creative way of engaging students is required.

What does student engagement look like?

A college campus where a student will arrive on transport timed to suit their needs, shop at an on-campus store that is stocked with things they want. They will then enter the lecture building with the amenities they helped co-create and attend classes that they had input in forming.

Which is the best engagement tool with students?

While there is no silver bullet, fun and playful solutions have been tried and tested to work effectively.

How does technology help student engagement?

Engaging students with technology enhances the student experience and provides opportunities for increased accessibility, increased motivation, more support and makes learning more fun and interesting. As education institutions try to compete with social media, they should leverage technology to increase engagement in an interactive and interesting way.

Why do we need a smart campus?

Smart Campuses have been recognised as a core feature to the universities of tomorrow. They are enhancing the student experience and help improve the three ‘E’s’: Efficiency, Education and Experience. It reshapes how students learn, study, interact and grow. Smart campuses prepare students for the world of work. According to Deloitte, in order to be sustainable and remain relevant, higher education institutions should employ next generation technologies and analytics-based insights to optimise on student well-being and experience. Check out Hello Lamp Post’s deployment with the University of British Columbia.

What is a connected campus?

A connected campus leverages IoT technology to enhance the campus experience for students, staff and external stakeholders. Providing technologies, solutions and amenities that improve campus life is what a connected campus is striving for. This means a student finding a car parking space, purchasing items without cash, receiving relevant and real-time information on various things, communicating quickly and effectively and easily finding and utilising available resources.

How can we improve college campuses?

It is no secret that the best way to improve college campuses is by figuring out what students need. How do we do that? By taking a human-centric approach using citizen participatory technology

What is a smart campus?

Smart campuses are defined as “utilising and integrating smart physical and digital spaces to establish responsive, intelligent and improved services for creating a productive, creative and sustainable environment’. Smart campus initiatives leverage many of the same technologies that are found in smart cities in order to tap the knowledge of students and allow for information networking to take place, whereby new data bodies and profiles can be created. Check out Hello Lamp Post’s installation at the University of British Columbia to see how we helped the team to find out more about parking habits, uncover student perceptions and to explore data trends, which would be used to help improve how students experience public spaces around the university campus.

How can you promote sustainability on campus?

Sustainability can be promoted in many different ways through campus. Encouraging staff and students to walk, cycle or take public transportation is a great start. Discouraging the use of single-use items should also be a priority. Ensuring campus facilities such as restaurants and cafes are not selling single-use items is encouraging. Having correct waste management systems in place on campus to encourage staff, students and visitors to dispose of waste correctly should also be a priority. Cutting down on paper waste by allowing students to submit work electronically is also promoting sustainability.

What is an innovation campus?

An innovative campus leverages technology to create a unique and creative learning experience for students. There are some great initiatives out there. Check out the top 55 innovative campus ideas around the world here.

What is a digital campus?

A digital campus is one that provides a suite of digital tools and resources that empower students, faculty and external stakeholders. These tools should be accessible, useful, easy to use, and meet the needs of students. Digital campuses will be like one giant seamlessly integrated system, where different systems, departments and functions will all work in tandem to produce the best outcome.

What are smart cities?

A smart city is a framework underpinned by Information & Communication Technology (ICT), and is an intelligent network of connected objects and machines (also known as a digital city), which transmits data using wireless technology and the cloud. Cloud based IoT solutions allow for cities to receive, analyze, and manage data in real-time, thus improving quality of life. Things such as traffic management, trash collection and waste management, air quality and pollution monitoring are all made possible with smart city technologies.

Why do smart cities matter?

Smart cities are a sustainable solution to our air, water, waste and energy consumption.

How does India use smart governance?

This SMART governance approach used in India will help to enable People Participation, Accountability and Efficiency, Transparency, User Friendly Government Processes, Removal of Hierarchical Barriers and Red Tapism ultimately improving the better service delivery

Who made smart cities?

The very first “Smart City” was Amsterdam, so in one sense the dutch can be the ones to claim the crown of “creators of smart cities”. When large multinational organisations such as IBM got involved in this area smarter cities became more widespread.

Why are smart cities a bad idea?

Smart Cities in theory have an overall benefit to society. Some potential drawbacks are the increase in the digital divide, energy consumption, and concerns over privacy and data management.

What are the smart cities in the world?

While many cities around the world are beginning to become “smarter”, there are some leaders for sure. The top 10 smartest cities in the world are New York, Singapore, London, Barcelona, Oslo, Boston, Dubai, Amsterdam, Toronto and Tokyo. Take a look at Hello Lamp Post’s deployments in some of these cities to see how we’re helping them towards their smart city goals.

What is the purpose of a smart city?

The core goal of a smart city is to improve the overall quality of life of citizens and to optimise city functions by using smart technology and data analysis. The true value of smart city technology lies in how it is used to inform decision making.

What do smart cities do?

A smart city brings with it many benefits, some of which include improved transportation and accessibility services, citizen voice enhancement, more sustainable practices, improved waste management, more connected citizens and lots more.

What is a smart city uk?

Smart City U.K is an initiative set-up to help fund smart city projects and towns, boroughs and cities across the United Kingdom. The LLDC London Legacy Development Corporation recently deployed Hello Lamp Post technology to help add a digital layer to the Olympic Park which was available 24/7. The LLDC are working to create a dynamic new heart for East London, creating new opportunities for local people and driving innovation and growth in London and the rest of the UK.

What makes a smart city?

A smart city is an urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect data. Smart cities are not all about technology; they are also centred around citizen’s wellbeing. This includes ensuring transportation, improved healthcare, sustainability, waste management and improvements to social and economic qualities.

How do smart cities work?

Smart cities consist of several primary elements including water and electricity supply, sanitation, governance, sustainability, transport and tourism. While smart cities look to improve the lives of their residents they also have an effect on industries that provide services to individuals such as tourism, healthcare and education.

What is a smart city example?

The smartest city in the world at the moment is Singapore. It ranks first out 109 other smart cities

How to plan a smart city?

In some instances the investment required to implement smart city technology can be quite substantial

Who is in charge of smart cities?

Depending on the country this can differ, but everyone has a role to play from the citizens who engage in the technology to the workers who deploy it , the local councils who analyse the micro data and then sometimes the larger city boards that analyse the macro data.

Is London a smart city?

The Mayor of London has designed a roadmap to make London the ‘smartest city in the world’, and is highly committed to the cause. This roadmap is known as Smarter London Together. Within this framework, there are five missions:

• Mission 1: More User-Designed Services
• Mission 2: Strike a New Deal For City Data
• Mission 3: World-Class Connectivity & Smarter Streets
• Mission 4: Enhance Digital Leadership & Skills
• Mission 5: Improve City-Wide Collaboration

You can read more about these here.

How many smart cities are there?

According to the Smart City Index, there were 109 smart cities around the world by the end of 2020. The top 3 ranking cities in 2020 were Singapore, Helsinki and Zurich. Check out more about Hello Lamp Post’s Singapore installation here.

What technology do smart cities use?

Generally speaking, smart cities utilize IoT sensors, actuators and technology to connect the various components across the city. Tech Republic list 6 essential smart city technologies:

1. Smart Energy
2. Smart Transportation
3. Smart Data
4. Smart Infrastructure
5. Smart Mobility
6. Smart IoT devices (like Hello Lamp Post!)

What is the smartest city in the world?

Singapore has been crowned as the smartest city in the world by the Smart City Index. For more information check out the Hello Lamp Post’s project in Singapore.

What are smart city technologies?

Smart city technologies leverage the internet of things (IoT) to gain comprehensive, real-time data, giving organisations the ability to watch events as they unfold, understand how demand patterns are changing, and respond with faster and lower-cost solutions.

What are the characteristics of a smart city?

Smart Cities experts proposed the four pillars of effective smart cities, which include physical infrastructure, social infrastructure, institutional infrastructure and economic infrastructure, with citizen involvement being an underlying critical success factor for each pillar

What is a sensing city?

Sensor technologies are now ubiquitous within Smart Cities, enabling monitoring the data collection from any object in motion that the sensors can pick up; thus, all levels of human activity can be tracked, monitored and analysed, it’s argues the true ‘smartness’ of a city relates to the ability of sensors to create new data streams in real-time, with precise geo-positioning, and how this information can be leveraged to create value for inhabitants.

What is ICT in a smart city?

ICT in a smart city is used to enhance the overall quality of life and improve efficiency of urban services and operations. This improves communication between citizens and city stakeholders.

What does IoT mean?

IoT refers to the Internet of Things.

What is IoT in a smart city?

Smart Cities are intrinsically linked to the Internet of Things (IoT), a three-tiered IoT architecture commonly used in smart infrastructure; Data Generation, Centralised Computing (Middleware) and Services Tier. Regular street furniture such as benches, bins, lamp posts, and transit stops can become smart when equipped with sensors, modules, processors, and microcontrollers

What applications in smart cities will use IoT technology?

IoT in smart cities will be used in the areas of smart infrastructure, air quality management, traffic management, smart parking and smart waste management.

How are privacy concerns dealt with in smart cities?

The future of smart cities and privacy is still being explored. Governments and city stakeholders will need to work hard to ensure that the citizen’s privacy is protected at all times. While data protection laws such as the GDPR are in place to protect citizens, more work is needed, as citizens worry over their privacy is a barrier to smart city technology adoptions.

What is heterogeneity in IoT?

Heterogeneity in IoT refers to the platform that allows for communication with a wide range of devices using multiple protocols. Smart cities are predicated on the concept of inter-connectivity and seamless integration, which is why heterogeneous IoT is needed.

What is the future of smart cities?

Organizations like Samsung have a vision for 6G technology giving users the experience of “ultimate hyper-connectivity”. Technological advancements such as Digital Twins or ‘Digital Replicas’ and Immersive Realities (XR) will allow for multi-sensory fully immersive experiences and the digital representation of the physical and biological world. In essence citizens will have the ability to experience the public realm without physically being there.

Do we really need smart cities?

Smart Cities have been defined as cities ‘seeking to address public issues via ICT-based solutions on the basis of a multi-stakeholder, municipally based partnership’. The overall purpose of a smart city is to offer innovative resources to citizens in order to generate added value and thus improve their quality of life.

Smart Tourism (5)

What is a smart tourist destination?

A destination facilitating access to tourism and hospitality products, services, spaces and experiences through ICT-based (Information and communications technology) tools. Hello Lamp Post have previously worked with tourism boards to help bring smart tourism destinations to life! Take a look at how the Maritime Mile in Belfast increased their level of visitor engagement exponentially here or how they helped vulnerable communities have their say at the Harbour Trust in Sydney.

What is smart technology in tourism?

Smart Technology to be blunt explicitly means making your current process “smarter” (more efficient, cost effective or sustainable” by leveraging technological capabilities.

What is smart tourism?

Smart Tourism is a concept that applies to governing bodies who leverage ICT to improve overall visitor experience.

How can I be a smart tourist?

By using your technological devices to interact with your surroundings! This is also called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).

What are the four types of tourism?

1. Domestic Tourism – Domestic tourism is tourism involving residents of one country traveling only within that country.
2. International Tourism – International tourism is tourism involving residents of one country traveling outside of that country.
3. Inter-Regional Tourism – Travel between /amongst different. regions.
4. Mass Tourism – Mass tourism occurs when large numbers of people visit the same place at any one time.

What is chat technology?

Chat Technology is a form of software that offers real-time text transmission over the Internet.

How does a live chat work?

In most cases a live chat is run by automated bots and a set of predetermined questions are inputted and relevant answers are spat out depending on the question. However, in some circumstances live chat can be with an actual human who receives your message, interprets it accordingly and will help you along whatever process you seem to be having difficulty with.

What are the basic needs to use instant messaging chat software?

In most cases wifi and a device that is connected to the internet.

Why is live chat important?

Live chat allows business to provide an instant support service but can be quite resource heavy depending on the nature of the business. Hello Lamp Post have previously deployed live chat outlets for citizens to engage with their local community and let their voices be heard. Check out the exciting case studies for more information.

Find out more

Have a question we haven’t covered? Or want to find out more about Hello Lamp Post? Contact a member of our friendly team today.Back