Convergent technology links phones and Web together. (PARR or Parks and Recreation Registration system that allows citizens to conduct business with local governments electronically 24-hours per day)(Brief Article)

At a Friday night dinner, the Stapletons and Johnsons were discussing a possible Sunday morning couples golf outing at the municipal course. Assuming that they would not be able to check available tee times until the next day when the club house opened, they almost put off the discussion. Lucille Stapleton knew that the city had installed an automated PARR (Parks and Recreation Registration) system, but thought it could only be accessed over the World Wide Web. Then, Dave Johnson remembered that the PARR system was available through the phone as well. They called the system, requested a 9:00 a.m. tee time, and accepted the 9:30 a.m. time that the system said was the first available.

Convergent technology systems, such as the PARR system, enable citizens to interact and transact with government agencies 24-hours a day over both the phone and web. Transactions such as parking or traffic ticket payments, golf and parks registration, utility payments, and building inspection updates can all be completed without extensive staff time or proprietary Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-only systems.

How is this possible? Convergent technology works by providing a transactional voice application in a programming language that can be accessed over the World Wide Web. Or conversely, an existing government web site can add a few special HTML codes and be visible to telephone "browsers." The technology is equally effective either way.

Convergent systems bridge the gap between the 20 percent of citizens with ready Internet access and the 98 percent of citizens with ready access to telephones. It eliminates the need for stand-alone IVR systems (and non-Internet kiosks) by providing the same functionality, while helping facilitate the inevitable transition to having all citizen services available through the Internet.

Joshua G. Marder is Vice President of Operations at TeleWorks, Inc., a company that makes a turnkey convergent product, Tele-Works Voice Response, specifically designed for local government use. For more information, contact Marder at 540-951-6463 or .