The Community Help Desk
Westchester County's Community Help Desk (CHD) is an innovative approach to web-based collaboration between government and residents. Government web sites have largely focused on information dissemination; most include static web pages, a simple search engine, and the ability to access and print, or perhaps complete and submit, forms online. Few sites, however, allow citizens to interact with the government in any meaningful way. The CHD is a unique attempt to significantly enhance the utility of the web site by making it interact with the user in an intelligent manner. It will be a step upward from an information-based web site toward a knowledge- and service-based web site.
At the heart of the CHD is expert system software which allows information obtained from experts to be stored in a knowledge base. Using the knowledge base, the CHD can interact with a user much as the expert would. In its pilot project, the expert system software has been used to gather and store knowledge from professionals who provide services to Senior Citizens and Youth. The CHD conducts question and answer sessions with the user to clarify his/her needs and then analyzes the answers and suggests possible solutions. The CHD allows the user to contact the appropriate service provider and, at the same time, forwards to the service provider a full report of its interaction with the user so that the provider has a framework for ascertaining the client's needs. Eventually, the CHD will provide forms, automatically schedule appointments, provide driving directions or bus schedules, and arrange for paratransit transportation as needed.
The benefits of the CHD will ultimately extend beyond its interaction with residents in need of assistance. Service providers themselves will be able to query the knowledge base, thus drawing on the expertise of their most experienced employees. The knowledge base will enable new employees to assume responsibility for complex cases more quickly, and it will help more experienced employees whenever they encounter uncharacteristic situations.
The Community Help Desk is Westchester County's response to a society where round-the-clock, self-service transactions are increasingly common. The CHD will incorporate expert systems, help desk software, e-mail management and telecommunications programs, and other suitable technologies to create a system that will benefit:
- Commuters - Through the CHD residents will have access to many government services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter where they are. Anyone who finds it difficult to get to a government office during business hours will benefit from a County Government that is available from any computer-at home, the office, a public library, even from a laptop halfway around the world.
- The Environment - Every service obtained online means one less car traveling to a government office. The result is less traffic and less pollution. The more services the CHD provides, the more significant its impact on the environment will be.
- County Employees - The CHD will handle many routine questions and services, thereby freeing County employees to concentrate on more complex matters and situations that benefit from personal interaction. By providing expert help, the CHD will enable new employees to become proficient more rapidly while providing all employees with more accurate and consistent answers to inquiries.
- All Taxpayers - Ultimately the benefits of the CHD-its convenience, accuracy, and consistency-add up to savings which will reduce the cost of government and benefit every taxpayer in Westchester County.
This website has been developed by the Department of Information Technology. Please direct questions or comments to the Community Help Desk development team.
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