This real-time citizen feedback system in Stara Zagora empowers residents to shape municipal services by rating them instantly, turning public opinion into actionable insight.
OVERCOMING INVISIBLE FEEDBACK BARRIERS
Before this initiative, citizens in Stara Zagora municipality, home to 150,000 people, faced an outdated and cumbersome process to provide feedback on public services. The analogue system discouraged participation, leaving municipal leaders without a clear view of citizen satisfaction. As a result, service quality often lacked community input, and valuable perspectives remained unheard. Recognising this gap, the municipality embraced digital innovation to transform how feedback is collected and used in everyday governance.
REAL-TIME INSIGHT AT CITIZENS’ FINGERTIPS
By leveraging the kazva.bg digital platform, the municipality enabled all citizens to rate services in seconds—no downloads, logins, or paperwork required. Over 800 locations across the city now feature QR codes allowing instant feedback on services ranging from transportation and education to tourism and public spaces. More than 5,000 citizens participated within the first few months. For the first time, the mayor and municipal team gained a live dashboard of citizen satisfaction and actionable data across hundreds of services. The system not only highlights problem areas but also celebrates top-performing services and employees.
TURNING FEEDBACK INTO ACTION
The system transformed public feedback into a tool for real governance. Citizen input has led to prioritised playground renovations, adjustments in public transportation, and proposed changes in kindergarten policy. All this was achieved without deploying internal municipal IT resources. The initiative has become a model of transparent, participatory service improvement and has been widely appreciated by citizens. It demonstrates how simple technology, when designed with accessibility in mind, can deepen democracy, build trust, and raise the standard of everyday services.
