The Texas-based firm says its new cloud-based Aurigo Engage application can help officials collect public feedback during the capital planning process more efficiently than separate campaigns centered around emails, in-person town halls and other methods.
The software also helps public agencies better incorporate that feedback into the planning process, the company said in a statement.
As Aurigo noted, public agencies typically must solicit comments from constituents before approving plans. That is also often politically wise, at least from the vantage point of elected officials, and the new federal infrastructure spending push is certain to attract countless complaints, outside-the-box thinking and other forms of commentary.
In the meantime, many public agencies — if not most — will want to craft their capital plans as soon as possible to create jobs and election visibility, and for other advantages. That is providing opportunity for Aurigo and other companies to gain business via fresh public engagement software products — many of which are also suited for regular budget-creation tasks.
“Our country will spend trillions on infrastructure in the next few years, and public sector leaders are looking for meaningful and equitable ways to connect with their constituents on these programs,” said Balaji Sreenivasan, Aurigo’s CEO and founder, in that statement. “Aurigo Engage allows our customers to harness the power of AI to speed up the delivery of infrastructure for their communities.”
Specifically, Aurigo Engage works like this, according to the company: The public connects to the platform via social media, and the feedback then undergoes what Aurigo calls sentiment analysis and emotion AI before categorizing, ranking and displaying those comments. The software also offers real-time dashboards and reporting and a map-based public commenting portal.
Aurigo said that its new software complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.
The company also touted how the AI part of the tool will help public officials with their upcoming capital planning.
“Artificial intelligence will save agencies hundreds of hours in processing time and provide richer feedback so that action can be taken quickly,” said Ashish Agrawal, Aurigo’s vice president of product strategy and marketing, in the statement. “This will ensure our nation’s investments in infrastructure meet the public’s needs.”
