Success story | Ada County Highway District
How Ada County Highway District improved engagement with digital solutions
Idaho’s Ada County Highway District (ACHD) oversees more than 5,000 miles of roadways and bridges, with a focus on public safety and engaging the community. ACHD partnered with Granicus and implemented digital tools & solutions to successfully launch its engagement site, ACHD Engage, to streamline and improve how they connect with Ada County residents.
SITUATION
ACHD engages the community to provide input, while improving safety and providing proper maintenance of roads, sidewalks, traffic signals, bike paths, and related infrastructure. ACHD undertakes hundreds of infrastructure improvements each year and, in FY2024, operated with an estimated $224 million budget. However, the agency was operating in a disjointed fashion when it came to customer experience, using separate online survey tools that were not connected to the website and had no point of integration. By implementing the Granicus Government Experience Cloud solution, including govDelivery, EngagementHQ (EHQ), and govAccess website solutions, the agency updated its engagement experience and streamlined its processes.
SOLUTION
Partnering with the Granicus’ Digital Consulting Agency,Granicus Experience Group (GXG), and implementing Granicus Engagement Cloud digital solutions — including EHQ for engagement, govDelivery for email and SMS communications, and the govAccess website solution — ACHD created a better user experience, communicating proactively while eliminating unnecessary work and creating more efficient processes. Additionally, ACHD wanted their communications to look consistent, professional, and like all messages were coming from the same place.
The streamlined nature of these tools allows the agency to work faster internally and the customizable widgets help external users move more quickly and effectively through the site. ACHD also created a subscriber topic for jobs and has begun to leverage govDelivery for recruitment initiatives.
RESULTS
Since implementing these digital solutions, ACHD has seen an increase in overall engagement and website visits. Since launching EHQ, there have been nearly 160,000 website visits and more than 11,000 feedback contributions. govDelivery has helped ACHD reach more people than ever before, which has helped boost public involvement.
In the past year, the agency boasts a 75.6% engagement rate (compared to a median engagement rate of 58% for transportation agencies) and 52% subscriber growth. Additionally, the agency leveraged EHQ and govDelivery for its Integrated Five-Year Work Plan, which resulted in 2,300 page views and more than 1,100 comments — the most ever for this annual project.
