Earmarks. Love them or hate them, this form of spending is a staple in the legislative process. The most common example of malfeasance- the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”- is admittedly a disgrace of political pandering and misused funds. The counterexamples of community centers, training, mental health services, 911 call centers, and so much more are, however, not as pronounced. While more frequently maligned than not, earmarks can be a positive force for local government short on financial resources.

Despite ongoing debate amongst political factions, earmarks are alive and well. Even with the Republican-backed voluntary two-year ban that went into effect in 2010, earmark spending has changed little with almost $300 million in special interested funding in 2012. In the last year, numerous conservatives have publically re-boarded the earmark bandwagon. That being the case, how can you and your agency take advantage?

First and foremost in securing an earmark is relationship-building. Get to know your state’s elected representative(s). Most representatives have a designated staff member to manage funding requests. Contact their office and ask for more information related funding assistance. Send a memo, email, and/or letter explaining who you are and why you need funding along with what efforts you’ve made to secure funding previously (i.e., budget requests, grants, etc.). Maintain regular contact in regards to your need for funding along with talking points about why your project should be selected for an earmark. Keep in mind that you have to make this mutually beneficial. Are you in a district that offers partisan advantage in upcoming election(s)? Do you have a large population served? How will you advertise the earmark to the community if it is received?

Exploring this path is by no means a guarantee your representative(s) will agree to help. Regardless, it is one more avenue to secure funding that should not be left untraveled. The old adage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” certainly applies in this case- diversify your funding sources to provide your agency the best chance possible to implement all those needed upgrades, new equipment, personnel, etc.

• Agencies with 500-999 officers
  2. Richmond, Va.
• Agencies with 100-249 officers
  1. Boca Raton, Fla.
  2. Modesto, Calif.
• Agencies with 50-99 officers
  5. Dublin, Ohio
• Agencies with 26-49 officers
  2. Dunwoody, Ga.

For a complete listing of agencies please visit: IACPSocialMedia.org

By Jillian Macau - Vice President of Customer Support

In late March, SunGard Public Sector’s support directors, managers and team leads were invited to attend our 2013 Support Summit.  This year’s theme was “Our People, Our Customers: Engaging Both for Success.”

Much of our time was spent discussing one of the most important duties in support: Being the “Voice of the Customer.” We want to be able to take the vast amounts of information we receive each day from clients and using it to drive business decisions, including prioritizing areas of focus.

With over one thousand cases resolved annually, we have a large amount of data that can be used to drive the feedback loop.  This customer feedback and interaction data can determine which known experience attributes drive customer loyalty and where customers encounter problems, and these insights can lead to a variety of operational improvements. Below are some of the ways we can be the Voice of the Customer.

• “How to …” – Functionality questions that drive Customer Connect support solutions on the portal
• “Now that doesn’t make sense for how I do it…” – Comments that drive product tweaks
• “I wish you would have told me …” – Comments that drive improved training programs
• “It’s not working …” – Issues that drive quality improvements in unit and regression testing

Joining us for the discussion was Ryan Kirby, director of quality assurance. Together we talked about the quality feedback loop from support to QA and how working together we can continue to identify quality issues more quickly.  Mike Garner, director of public safety support, introduced a Support Ranking Tool to the support leadership team that can help navigate through the data to find information that will help us make good business decisions.

All told, it was a productive event that left us all more excited than ever to continue working hard at being your voice in SunGard Public Sector.

You probably played the telephone game when you were a child.  The game play starts with a group of individuals sitting in a circle.  The rules are pretty simple. The leader will start the game by whispering a phrase or sentence into the first player’s ear.  You can only whisper the statement in the next person’s ear one time – no repeating.  As the phrase or sentence is repeated from one person to the next it is transformed into something completely different.  The original sentence might have been ‘My Aunt Sally makes really good treats.’  The final sentence might end up like this – ‘My Aunt Kelly takes jelly odd sweets.’

This simple listening game demonstrates how hard it is to listen and pay attention when someone is speaking to you.  Many organizations find themselves playing the telephone game with training. Your organization invests in training its employees. Over time as one employee shares their knowledge, that employee later shares their knowledge and so on. The amount of knowledge transferred becomes smaller and smaller.

Is your organization playing the telephone game? Consistent employee training opportunities improves efficiency, collaboration, employee confidence and job satisfaction. Investing in training opportunities can keep your organization running in tip-top-shape.

The Training and Development Department at SunGard Public Sector has a variety of employee training options aimed at putting an end to the telephone game. If you are interested in hearing more about cost effective options available for training, please contact your Customer Success Executive.

Sunscreen? Check. Bathing Suit? Double Check. Grant Application Prep work? Huh? While prepping for upcoming grant programs may not seem high on the priority list during the warm summer months, it should be on your radar. Preparing now for the funding opportunities that come available late summer to early Fall positions you and your agency for grant funding success later on. Truth be told, grant funding has reduced over the years while the number of applications for those dwindling funds has increased exponentially. Submitting a winning application requires solid justifications, well-thought out project designs and a clear alignment between the proposed project and the grant program’s priorities. To assist you in this process, SunGard Public Sector Grants Services recommends three easy steps to get you in tip top summer shape:

1. Creating a file of newspaper articles

   Articles related to your agency/department, a natural disaster or emergency event in the area- really anything notable that could later be incorporated or mentioned in a future request. These articles essentially act as evidence and/or provide justification when you are stating your need for funding.

2. Begin identifying possible project partners now

   Who are the leaders of your neighborhood associations and/or other community groups? Are there any folks with grants experience at these agencies? Are there neighboring jurisdictions that you may be able to collaborate with? Once you have these folks identified, examine what (if any) professional working relationships exist. Is there a Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement (MOU/MOA) in place? Have you worked with them in the past and has that project(s) been successful? Identifying potential partners now and any previous interaction will help you:

   • Streamline partner selection later
   • Lay the groundwork for future collaboration
3. Educate yourself

   Grants Services offers free webinars throughout the year that discuss upcoming funding opportunities, basic grant application development, and other grants-related topics. Even if you cannot make the date and time the webinar is originally offered, most are made available later on via a link to a presentation recording.

Unlike traditional forms of government communication, citizens want to engage in a two way discussion. In fact, people demand response based on their tweets and posts.

Not sure where to begin? Engaging citizens on social media platforms can be as simple as asking open-ended questions or posting an entertaining picture. Take the Colorado State Patrol Facebook page for example. On March 7, they posted this image:

Photo and Caption Courtesy of the Colorado State Patrol

Whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day or any given day, drinking and driving never mix. Designate your sober driver before your drink, and get home safe.

Simple enough, right? As of March 8, at 12:30 EST, Colorado State Patrol received over 150 likes, 89 shares and 7 comments related to this image. Over three percent of Colorado State Patrol’s fans interacted with this photo in the course of a single day. Three percent may sound low, but according to Mashable, “on average, just six percent of fans engage with a brand’s Facebook Page via likes, comments, polls and other means.” Keep in mind that your agency is competing for the attention of that coveted six percent against brands like Coca-Cola and Nike.

With any new marketing venture there is an amount of risk involved. You may not like everything that is being said about your city or agency, but by addressing and hopefully resolving complaints you can create a happier community.

Social Media is still a relatively new medium for many agencies, but is quickly becoming the future of communication. Don’t be shy, toot your own horn. Reach out to your fans and followers, and spread the word about all of the great things your agency does.

New to social media, or had a recent success? Let us know: we are always happy to highlight customer achievements.

Click to download the complete case study (PDF).

Located on the picturesque Fox River, Aurora is ranked as the second largest city in the state of Illinois. With a rapidly expanding population, city officials wanted to improve building inspection communications for increased efficiency with leaner staffing levels.

SunGard Public Sector’s NaviLine Code Enforcement and Click2Gov Wireless Code Inspection Software helped streamline Aurora’s inspection communications. “We wanted to reduce re-inspection rates and inspection request call volume,” said John Curley, Building and Permits Director. “SunGard Public Sector’s automated email system and mobile inspections help us efficiently communicate with all members of the private sector team.”

Nationally recognized for “Best Practice” communication tools by the International Code Council’s Major Jurisdiction Committee, Aurora’s inspection communications have helped increase productivity.

Automatically generated, inspection scheduling emails contain a listing of the Top 10 frequently failed items, inspector contact information and a customer survey URL. “We see the ‘Top 10’ as a chance for us to prepare citizens and answer any questions they might have prior to inspection. This valued resource assists the private sector team in addressing common deficiencies, reducing construction time and ensuring better municipal efficiency,” said Curley.

Harnessing the power of Click2Gov Wireless Code Inspections, Aurora’s code enforcement officers can send and receive information quickly and accurately. The intuitive interface allows officers to efficiently use mobile devices to enter inspection results at the job site. Working together, Click2Gov Wireless Code Inspections and the SunGard Public Sector Building and Permits software provide a complete link between the permitting office and inspectors in the field. “Instantaneous result entry eliminates the dual effort of written results in the field and subsequent typed results in the office. This allows for an additional inspection to be added to the daily schedule,” said Curley.

“Real-time inspection results are automatically emailed to the entire private sector team from the field, effectively shaving a half day from the correction response and re-inspection time frame. Instantly knowing if a structure has failed an inspection helps the private sector team manage projects and reduces the amount of time before occupancy,” said Curley.

Included in the inspection results emails is a link to a customer satisfaction survey. The survey has assisted city officials with aggregating citizen suggestions while providing useful employee feedback, in addition to creating a unique opportunity for citizens to voice concerns or share details of how their inspection was conducted. The email and customer satisfaction surveys improve transparency and offer a forum for citizens who may not be likely to utilize the online web portal.

Click to download the complete case study (PDF).

As one of the top recipients nationally for National Institutes of Health grant funding, managing the disbursement for those funds is the top priority for Sanford-Burnham’s administrative team. SunGard Public Sector’s financial administration products are a critical component in helping Sanford-Burnham staff to fulfill reporting requirements and insure that research teams have the latest information available on funding.

“As a not-for-profit, we know most of our funds will come from grants,” explains Sandi Houle, manager, administrative computing for Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. “Using SunGard Public Sector products, we are able to generate very clean reports on the money going in and out, and on our funding pipeline.”

Administrators at Sanford-Burnham are not just tracking the high-level movement of funds through the organization—funding is often attached specifically to individual research projects, meaning that expenses against each project must be tracked precisely. Having up-to-date reporting on expenditures by project is critical for the scientists in charge of Sanford-Burnham’s research projects.

“With more than 200 research projects active at any given time, it is crucial that we are able to communicate clearly to the principal investigators on each project regarding funding,” says Ms. Houle. “We are able to set up templates that populate on a weekly or monthly basis, with very detailed information about finance and payroll for each research project.”

The versatility of SunGard Public Sector’s products provides Ms. Houle and her team with the flexibility to manage tasks that are unique solely to research institutes such as Sanford-Burnham. For example, since the institute’s findings are regularly used by pharmaceutical companies as the foundation for creating new drugs, administrators must track use of those patents and track expenses incurred for the upkeep of those patents. Royalties are also paid out against those patents to researchers at the institute. Sanford-Burnham administrators are able to manage patent billing and royalty payments completely through the use of SunGard Public Sector software.

“Before we used SunGard Public Sector’s products, we had several different solutions, and that was the problem,” said Ms. Houle. “There was a lot of Excel going on in this world. Now we are able to capture all our grants info and create nice reports to track success rates on grants, payroll by projects, and other key administrative info—the things we need to know.”

SunGard Public Sector’s continued commitment to technical support helps increase efficiency and productivity. “I like the approach that the most knowledgeable person is wired to take the call and if they are unavailable, then it moves downstream,” said Ms. Houle. “The steps being taken around quality help keep us unified toward the common goal.”

Click to download the complete case study (PDF).

Of course, securing grant funding can be a challenge for seasoned and “green” grant writers alike. Successful applications, can be made easier by following a few simple steps:

1. Read Any Grant Program Guidelines Completely (even if they are 70 pages long).
   Most Federal and State grant programs provide guidelines that help “guide” eligible organizations through the application process. There is a wealth of information contained in these documents that will help you develop a strong application.
   
2. Reach Out to Others.
   There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Base your project design on what has been funded and successful in the past. Reach out to the program hotlines established to assist you through the application process. Contact prior winners to request their winning project narratives. You will be surprised by how much others want to help you succeed!
   
3. Utilize Your Resources.
   Assemble a team that can divvy up and contribute to the grant application. A team approach often times creates the best project design, and helps establish project buy-in.
   

Whether your agency is well-positioned to pursue grant funding in 2013 or just interested in learning more, SunGard Public Sector Grants Services is here to help you. This free service helps you identify the right funding opportunity for your agency and develop a winning application. Utilizing this unique service is as simple as contacting your SunGard Account Executive or Customer Service Executive. What are you waiting for? Let’s make 2013 a great (and successful) year!