In an increasingly technological world, close to 50% of local government agencies in the U.S. are using some sort of mobile application system to engage with citizens. According to the IBM Center for The Business of Government, local governments should focus on customer service as they provide for citizens on a day-day basis through hospitals, parks, public works, and much more. To facilitate community engagement in Berkeley County, the Chamber of Commerce enlisted the help of Moises Cardenas of SC Studios to help create a mobile app that would give its citizens an all-inclusive system where they could find any and everything they might need.
“The Chamber of Commerce app was essentially created because we needed a central place for everyone who comes and moves into Berkeley County and also the people who live here to be able to find everything,” Cardenas says of the application.
He continues, “It has loads of resources for people. If they need to go the DMV or need to know ‘where do I hook up my utilities,’ it has a full checklist that people can use. It was designed to be a one stop shop for Berkeley County residents and people who were going to be moving into the area.”
The process of creating a mobile application is quite intensive. From research and testing, to release and maintenance, thoroughness is imperative to success. Creating the app required a lot of diligence, Cardenas states,
“Creating the app was about a five-month process, we did a lot of work to get that thing up and running and it’s going to be even greater as we continue to incorporate more of our partner entities’ data and information.”
A feature that Cardenas is excited about is the local business section, along with the mapping element that not only highlights the businesses in the community, but also alerts app users when they are near an establishment. This component will hopefully boost the local economy and help local businesses succeed.
SC Studios prides itself on working with clients from the building process to upkeep. Cardenas is always aiming to improve and make additions that will increase citizen engagement. He is working to add other features, like a search option, and collaborating with other government entities to keep community members as informed as possible.
“We’re actually revamping it (the app) to include even more, we’re going to work directly with our partner entities to give the residents of Berkeley County as much as we can,” Cardenas enthuses.
SC Studios is honored to be a partner of the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce and provide them with a comprehensive mobile application to better serve our community.
