If a municipality wants to work with this social capital – the sum of all the talents of your residents – then you have to be open to those same residents. Safety is important for residents. But this also applies to the quality of life in neighbourhoods and districts. A municipality can easily use social media to use the power of its residents. Via an app such as Verbeterdebuurt, residents can report unsafe situations in their neighbourhood. And with Buitenbeter, residents can also upload photos of situations where the quality of life has been affected. A very important aspect of these apps is the follow-up of the reports. The willingness of people to contribute to safety and quality of life must be embraced by a quick and good handling of the reports.
Know your social capital
In fact, everything starts with: get to know your residents. Social media are excellent for this. First of all,egypt phone number list you can actively use existing LinkedIn groups and Facebook pages where residents often come together. We call this 'fish where the fish are'. In other words: look for your residents on the various social media and connect with them. If they are not or not clearly organised in a Hyves or LinkedIn group, you can perhaps create a 'social pond' yourself via social media.
Create bonding
Various reports are received by the municipality via apps such as Verbeterdebuurt and Buitenbeter. A municipality also has insight into who makes which report. This allows a direct link to these willing residents to make the municipality safer and more liveable together. In this way, it is possible to find out which residents are concerned with their environment in their free time. Then bind these residents to you. Depending on the subject, this can be a one-off or permanent action. For example, a one-off action could involve making a neighbourhood litter-free together. The municipality of Amersfoort, for example, has safety ambassadors , a more permanent form of using your social capital.