myGRcitypoints

Case Study

myGRcitypoints

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An incentive web application for civic engagement.

Atomic Object is the technology partner on mygrcitypoints.com, a first-of-its-kind incentive program for the City of Grand Rapids. Currently in its first phase, the program now allows City residents to use their single-stream recycling carts to earn points that can be exchanged for special offers at local businesses. Additional phases of this initiative will focus on earning points for civic and community volunteering and engagement. Atomic Object developed the web application supporting the reward system: http://points.mygrcity.us.

Other partners in the mygrcitypoints.com program include :

The City of Grand Rapids funded the mygrcitypoints.com program and is responsible for supporting the platform. The City is also responsible for collecting recyclables and providing recycled content weight data to the points platform.

Local First manages locally-owned businesses and residents participating in the points program.

The Image Shoppe and Clark Communications created the marketing and public education materials for the program.

How it Works

Each single-stream recycling cart has a Remote Frequency Identification (RFID) chip inserted in the cart that allows the truck to identify it. When users sign up for a mygrcitypoints.com account, they enter their cart’s unique identification number to begin collecting points. As residents recycle, these points are pulled into the system and can be tendered for offers from participating Local First vendors.

Scoping the Project

In the project’s Research, Design and Planning (RDP) phase, we worked with the City of Grand Rapids and Local First to understand the timelines, constraints and goals of the initiative. While the initial phase targeted recycling, the City envisioned a rewards program that could be extended to encourage a broader spectrum of civic and community engagement. Atomic Object helped the City define a limited initial release around an already familiar activity: recycling. By framing the mygrcitypoints.com platform around recycling, the application was able to offer its users immediate value by rewarding them for something they already do and understand. The immediacy and simplicity of the initial phase will encourage early user participation in the program and provide a framework for future phases.

We were careful to limit the scope of the initial first release and hone in on the City’s core value proposition. We deferred nonessential functionality – like local business reviews or social check-ins. Atomic is working with the City in additional phases to identify how the app can leverage existing APIs and functionality from social platforms with widespread use like Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Foursquare to create a more interconnected user experience without the expense of fully custom solutions or the risk of an empty network.

Collaboration and Constraints

The Mygrcitypoints.com application stands at the center of a wide range of inputs and users: recycling data feeds, an externally created marketing site, citizens, vendors, the City, and Local First. Atomic had to arrange a development schedule that was sensitive to the timelines and constraints of many components. For instance, we created vendor-facing features first so that Local First could begin recruiting businesses to populate the system with offers. Prioritizing vendor features avoided the risk that the application would launch without a compelling list of rewards.

Our team was able to anticipate future desires of the marketing site and build a simple and flexible application interface before the branding and needs were articulated. Once delivered, we were able to easily incorporate branding and design elements from the marketing site, created by our neighbors at The Image Shoppe. We also were able to provide the marketing site with data feeds of rewards so that they could feature actual rewards automatically as they entered the system.

Empathetic Design

On this project, Atomic was not building a tool that enhanced a current process but creating a new digital process. Because there were no current users, we created and acted out context scenarios to influence, challenge and validate our design decisions. Our process uncovered many design issues and opportunities and allowed us to improve the application’s design.

Update

On June 11th, the mobile web version of the app was announced at the Local First Street Party. The mobile web gives program participants the opportunities to claim and “clip” mobile rewards right on their smart phones, as well as find participating local vendors near them.

During this time, it was also announced that waste has dropped 14% since the launch of myGRcitypoints.