In 1999, three men had a dream: How could local governments streamline their legislative operations while, at the same time, improve citizen engagement? These three men — Tom Spengler, Emery Jones, and Javier Muniz — decided to take action and formed Granicus, Inc., a company that has become a leader in government transparency.
Granicus exists to assist the public sector entities in creating more transparency by automating the legislative process by helping entities bundle the plethora of documents that are used at public meetings and consume them in a paperless way. In addition, Granicus has worked with all levels of government to answer this question: How can we build automation into the public-facing government process to make it easier to make transparency happen in the eyes of the citizens?
The Granicus platforms are intended to improve efficiency and reduce costs. As governmental entities start becoming more transparent, it hopes to ensure that citizen involvement is meaningful and impactful. This is one of the areas where the platform shines.Here’s an example of what the Granicus platform did for the city of Long Beach, CA:
- The city saved $3.1 million from reduced paper and staffing costs
- Public access was significant improved
- The council-based governance process was streamlined — agendas, minutes, and reporting were improved
- With additional transparency, citizens are better able to hold their elected officials accountable
- The city created a permanent digital repository for support of policy, management, and decision-making
But, as technology has advanced, Granicus knew they could do more… and they have. For existing customers, Granicus is now making available an iPad app called iLegislate, which can be downloaded from the App Store.
iLegislate is targeted at staffers and elected officials in customer accounts. The tool enables an elected official to get all of their documents before the meeting, to take any notes that are necessary, send questions/comments to people from whom information is required, research items, and more. Next, the person goes to the meeting with the iPad, which is loaded with everything they need to be successful. The goal is to further streamline the meeting process.
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