Citizen Feedback Portal: A smart technology tool developed by GFCP Malaysia to support evidence-based planning in Iskandar Malaysia

The Citizen Feedback Portal (CFP) is an application developed by the GFCP team in Malaysia together with Majlis Bandaraya Iskandar Puteri (MBIP), a local authority in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor. The application was developed as part of the pilot project for the Iskandar Malaysia Smart Integrated Mobility Management System (SIMMS) intervention and serves as a proof of concept by using a Geospatial Information System (GIS) platform to assist MBIP to overcome the spatial shortfalls of its current complaints management system, Sistem Pengurusan Aduan Awam (SisPAA), which is also the existing national system used by other cities and government agencies in Malaysia.

^{Citizen Feedback Portal user interface}

How the CFP is helping MBIP to improve the management of complaints

The CFP application allows the public to submit complaints on matters under the jurisdiction of MBIP, including issues like potholes, malfunctioning streetlights, parking, and sanitation. The CFP, which works both on computers and mobile phones, allows users to submit new reports, review and to vote for existing reports submitted by others. Voting helps to increase the ranking and priority of issues, allowing MBIP to tackle more pressing issues promptly using crowd-sourced data. In conceptualising the development of the application, the GFCP team simplified the user interface and user experience (UI/UX), making it accessible and fast for users to submit complaints without first having to register. A user simply needs to sign in as a ‘guest’ and proceed to follow the simple steps to submit a new complaint.

^{Simple way to submit a complaint on the CFP}

^{Voting for existing complaints on the CFP}

The CFP was developed using ArcGIS Enterprise – Crowdsource Reporter Template, which captures the accurate location of the complaint by enabling users to simply drop a ‘pin’ to the location of concern via its Geospatial Information System (GIS) functionalities, enabling MBIP’s report investigators to navigate to the exact location and take appropriate action to address the complaint. Through its interactive data visualisation and monitoring interface, the entire process can be managed with greater transparency and efficiency.

Prior to the development of the CFP, data collected through SisPAA would need to be extracted in the form of tables and converted to GIS format for analysis. With the CFP, the GIS functionalities within the application speed up the process and remove the need for data conversion.

By filtering and analysing data with specific types of complaints, local municipalities and urban planners can identify the underlying cause of these complaints and make better-informed decisions to address them. For example, if a heatmap shows that there have been many complaints lodged regarding potholes within a certain area, the local municipality can pinpoint accurate actions that need to be taken to address the problem. This might include reviewing road policies, increasing the frequency of road maintenance or limiting the movement of heavy freight vehicles.

^{Data visualisation features of the CFP}

^{Data monitoring dashboard of the CFP}

Community-focused application

As part of the GFCP’s initiative to uphold Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) in every aspect of the project, members of the GESI Consultative Group (GCG), which consists of representatives from marginalised communities such as women, Persons with Disabilities, youth, and the elderly, were actively included during the application’s development, focusing on the UI/UX aspects to maximise usability and accessibility targeting the needs of the GESI communities.

CFP wins Esri Malaysia’s 2021 GeoInnovation Award

In recognition of the GFCP team and MBIP’s digital innovation efforts, Esri Malaysia has named the CFP as one of their 2021 GeoInnovation Award winners. The Award celebrates innovative geospatial technology solutions that help improve existing social, economic and environmental challenges in Malaysia, and the CFP’s smart GIS-based technology definitely hits the mark. Iskandar Puteri’s Mayor and Head of MBIP’s Planning Department received the award on behalf of the CFP development team at the ceremony, held on 25 May 2022 at Hilton Kuala Lumpur. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (who funded the programme) and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) were also in attendance to celebrate the achievement. Following the presentation of the award, MBIP was given the opportunity to present the project to the audience.

^{Esri Malaysia GeoInnovation Award 2021}

^{YB Dato' Haji Haffiz bin Haji Ahmad, Mayor of Iskandar Puteri receiving the GeoInnovation Award together with representatives from MBIP, IRDA and UK FCDO}

The future of the CFP

^{CFP public poster developed by MBIP}

The application, now fully adopted by MBIP, will continue to be used to log, monitor and manage/resolve complaints from the general public. The features will be further expanded to cater to evolving demands of the relevant departments within MBIP, and there is potential for the application to be rolled out to other cities so that a centralised system can be adopted. This would promote digital collaboration within the Iskandar Malaysia region and potentially across the country on the use of smart technology to enhance the efficiency of cities in addressing issues on the ground and using data to inform planning decisions.

The recognition awarded by Esri Malaysia catapults the CFP to the forefront of innovative, inclusive and citizen-centric technology. It can pave the way for replication in the future to enhance innovation and inclusiveness amongst other local municipalities, stakeholders and companies.