The Open311 specification and implementations have developed rapidly in recent months and several developers and service providers have already integrated the first version of the specification into their technology. San Francisco has also moved their API from just  being available for testing to being deployed as a live, in-production web service. A full list of services and applications using this version of the API will be made available shortly.

From the outset, the API development has been versioned so that new specifications can be advanced while coexisting with older ones. With this in mind, the developer community, cities, and companies have been moving the conversation forward to evolve and improve the first specification so that it can be used by a wider audience.  The mailing list has come alive with feedback on a wide variety of issues and the two cities currently driving this forward the most, San Francisco and Washington D.C., have come together to agree on and fully interoperate with a new Open311 GeoReport v2 specification. Both of these cities are accepting requests for API keys (San Francisco, Washington D.C.) to develop with the new specification. A full run down of the changes and advancements will be made available shortly, but one of the first things you might notice is that we are now referring to this specification as the Open311 GeoReport API. The reason for this name is to clarify the specific functionality provided within the umbrella of all things that 311 services provide. It’s also meant to make it more obvious that the specification applies to those who do not associate these services with the “311″ name or shortcode.

We look forward to hearing your feedback so that we can better clarify the Open311 GeoReport v2 specification and give everyone a better sense of the current state of the Open311 effort. Please speak up here in the comments or on the mailing list. Also feel free to contact me directly. We hope to hear from anyone interested in innovating around this common foundation to help improve our cities and all communities.

On October 24th, The Open Planning Project will host Open311 DevCamp at their NYC office. Please register to attend either in-person or remotely via Eventbrite (it’s free). This is a DevCamp style un-conference to coordinate a standard specification for 311 services. Washington D.C’s 311 API will be a major case-study for developing a more universal 311 API. In general, this DevCamp will be an opportunity to discuss and develop what’s needed to make 311 services more accessible and for cities to share knowledge for mutual benefit. The event is intended for developers, project managers, and policy makers involved with 311 services. We encourage those involved with 311 services from all cities to take part. If you cannot attend in person, please sign up as a remote attendee and we’ll provide you with information about how to connect to the DevCamp remotely.

Please register at http://open311.eventbrite.com
The wiki page for the event is http://wiki.open311.org/Open311DevCamp

Since the last update here on 311 technology, a number of new apps have been released from different cities and services. Here’s a quick rundown:

SeeClickFix released an iPhone app to interface with their service.

New York City released their first official mobile 311 app with the 311 Pix iPhone app.

Pittsburg launched their first mobile 311 app as an iPhone app called iBurgh with suggestions of spreading their technology to other cities.

DC announced the winner of the final round of the Apps for Democracy contest. The DC 311 iPhone and Facebook app created by Victor Shilo was the winner. Other DC 311 apps and links to their source code can be found in the D.C. apps section of the wiki.

CitySourced launched as a new software-as-a-service offering similar to SeeClickFix with a presentation at TechCrunch 50. CitySourced is starting with iPhone based input and Palm Pre, Blackberry, Android, and Windows Mobile versions on their way (video). The TechCrunch pitch also included their first client on stage, city council member Pete Constant from San Jose (press release).

A running list of 311 apps and services is maintained on the wiki. Please add or update the listing if you know of more.

To further discuss the issues and opportunities surrounding Open 311, we’d like to extend an open invitation to the developer, government, and interested citizen communities to the first Open 311 Summit.

At this point, the agenda and format are open for discussion, as are the exact dates, but we are thinking about sometime in late October, 2009 in NYC.  If you’re interested in attending or have any suggestions, please drop a note in the comments or head over to the Open 311 Discussion List.

Thanks!

In a few minutes, Philip Ashlock from The Open Planning Project will be discussing Open311 at the Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase.

Phil will be presenting as part of the “Government as a Partner” panel, along with representatives from Arkansas Recovery Portal, Neighbors for Neighbors, SeeClickFix, and BART.  You can view his slides below or download them here (PDF).

The Expo has been great so far, and Tim O’Reilly’s opening remarks definitely set the stage for a discussion of 311 as an open civic platform.  You can follow the live tweeting here.

Over the past week or so there have been significant advancements in the offerings of 311 services in New York, Boston, and Washington D.C..

At the first day of the Personal Democracy Forum on June 29th Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city’s 311 service would now have both a Skype and a Twitter account. So far it appears that the Twitter account is only used as a broadcast medium rather than also accepting 311 service requests in the way San Francisco’s 311 system recently made available.  Bloomberg also announced the creation of a public contest called NYC Big Apps. Big Apps is modeled after D.C.’s Apps for Democracy contest which means it’s an opportunity for developers to build technology around city data. Please suggest app ideas or data that the city should make available for this competition or submit a formal request with the city.

Washington D.C. has continued to improve it’s 311 service by releasing a draft for the second version of it’s Open 311 API. Last week also brought to a close the Apps for Democracy contest that was put on to develop apps for this API. An announcement of the final round winner will be made public the week of July 13th.

Boston has just announced the creation of a free iPhone app called Citizen Connect that will let iPhone users in Boston submit municipal complaints. Here we finally have a city responding the need for hand-held 311 service requests.

These are all encouraging developments which represent different possibilities for  improving 311 services.  The effort with Open311 continues with looking at these different approaches and specific API’s to see how a standard can be coalesced.