The challenge
In the city of Bat-Yam, Tel-Aviv’s little sister, the municipality sought to deepen the connection with residents who are never or rarely active in community life. Based on data from 2021, it was clear that traditional events and activities lacked some methodology, reaching only a fraction of residents.
“Always the Same Voices”
Traditional methods of resident participation, such as town hall meetings or paper surveys, often faced limitations in reaching the entire resident population. These methods rely on physical attendance, familiarity with these initiatives and the willingness to participate actively. Consequently, only a small fraction of residents, typically those deeply involved or passionate about community issues, would participate. This limited engagement with a narrow spectrum of voices fails to capture the diverse perspectives and needs of the entire community.
Moreover, residents needed to allocate specific times to attend meetings or complete lengthy paper surveys, which many found inconvenient amidst their busy schedules and in some cases, their language barriers. As a result, the feedback obtained through these methods often lacked depth and comprehensiveness.
To bridge this gap, the municipality introduced the city’s “1 Million Straight to Your Home,” program, inviting locals to propose and vote on neighborhood upgrades worth 1 million Israeli Shekels. However, it was clear that to succuesfuly reach more residentst and to collect, manage, and analyze these ideas there was a need to implement a new approach.
Start Doing Things with
Enters with, an innovative digital platform designed for local governments. with facilitated the entire process, from idea submission to voting, making the initiative effortless, efficient, and impactful. By centralizing proposals and votes, featuring a resident-friendly interface, and allowing message personalization to reach new residents, ‘with’ provided the perfect solution for both the city and its dwellers. 1 month from the launch of the project the platform was already bustling with new proposals and ideas from different residents. The proposals were narrow down, first by city representatives based on budget constraints and the feasibility of implementation, then by the residents themselves. Finally only a few were chosen to be executed and put in the different neighbourhoods.
From efficiently collecting the ideas to managing the elected proposals, analyzing the votes and even declaring the official winners, everything was done through the with platform.
Outcomes
Using with the municipality was able to reach the long tail of residents, even those whose voices either get lost in translation such as culturally diverse groups, or working-class residents who can’t find the time to take part or take action. There was a 15% surge in participation that demonstrated that Bat-Yam succeeded in extending its reach and connecting with more of its residents. This in turn, enabled the municipality to implement popular suggestions, fostering a deeper sense of place.
