Last year, ProvStat supplied Forestry with a customized software application for gathering and tracking these requests for tree service. Since the exact address location was now being captured electronically, ProvStat was able to map precise geographic locations of the requests using its GIS (Geographic Information Systems) capabilities.

Using these maps, the supervisor of the Forestry Division and the Acting Parks Superintendent developed a 'plan of attack' that considered a more efficient use of tree service crews and equipment to satisfy these requests.

The graph below reflects the improvement that the crews made in terms of the number of requests that were completed using the new data-driven strategy.

COMPLETED TREE SERVICE REQUESTS

Again, ProvStat's GIS mapping capability enabled Forestry to pinpoint the exact locations of 360 city trees requiring removal. In addition, detailed data that Forestry was collecting with the new the ProvStat data base -- such as the caliper measurement and the type of tree -- became very valuable.

The map below depicts the geographic location of the trees to be contracted for removal. The $69,000 in tree removal work was awarded to two private contractors who bid to specifications established by Parks with the assistance of ProvStat data.

When Recreation Department Director Frank Santos first saw the map that ProvStat prepared illustrating precisely where in the city the Recreation Centers are located, with an overlay of data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing the density of 8-15 year olds in Providence, it began to change the way he and Asst. Director Tony Heywood were thinking about recreation programming and serving residents of Providence. Specifically, they noted that Neutaconkanut Rec. Center, a site rented frequently by outside youth and adult groups during 'prime-time' hours, was the only City Recreation Center within a half-mile of hundreds of adolescent city residents.

In the next few months, the directors were asked to examine usage of ALL Providence Recreation Centers and concluded that there were other instances where the Centers were being used for sports and recreation activities for adults during the 6-9 p.m. time slots which needed to be reserved for youth.

Also, data provided by ProvStat relative to age and gender of city residents, matched with an analyzed view of program offerings from Providence Recreation led Department managers to the conclusion that there was a deficiency in Recreation programs offered to adolescent and teenage girls.