FAQs
The Qwhery Cloud is the secure portal where registered users can setup the connection of their organization’s data feeds to the Alexa skill, Q11. The Qwhery Cloud is also where you’ll find all of the resources to help you make the most of your subscription to Q11, including marketing tips, templates, data specification documentation and more.
Consider the Qwhery Cloud as the engine that drives your citizen voice engagements, and your open data the fuel.
You can ask Q11 non-emergency questions and receive general information that you would normally get while calling your local 311 government services number.
If you’ve set up your Alexa devices to use your address, you’ll get localized information that is relevant to you, where you live. You can also set a temporary address during your conversation with Q11, to find out information related to other addresses, either in your current city, or somewhere else.
To find out information about your city councillor and ward, you can ask, “Who is my councillor?”
To find out when the next council meeting is, you can ask, “When is the next council meeting?”
To find out about construction projects near you, you can ask, “What construction projects are happening near me?” or, “What construction projects are happening near 55 Main Street North?”
No, Q11 uses the address and email associated with your Alexa enabled devices only after you provide permission within the skill. Your information is only used during your conversation with Q11 and is released once your interaction is complete.
When you grant Q11 permission to know your email address during your conversation, Q11 can send you directions and other information via email. Your email address is never stored with Q11 and it will never be used to send you unsolicited emails.
Qwhery is a mashup of the words, “query” and “where” or better known in the GeoSpatial community – a Spatial Query!
qwher·y
/ˈkw(h)werē/
noun
a question addressed to a local government usually associated with or near a location
“send a Qwhery with Q11 to local government open data portals and return service details”
verb
to ask a question about municipal services that are available to you and your community
“many people Qwhery the city’s website to learn all about the services available to them”
Using any of your Alexa enabled devices, you can say, “Alexa, enable Q11”. Once enabled, to get the most out of the skill, follow the instructions on the notification card that is sent to your Alexa app on your mobile device.
In your Amazon Alexa app on your mobile device, you can navigate to the Skills & Games section and search for Q11 where you’ll be able to enable the skill.
You can also visit the Amazon Skills Store to learn more about the Q11 Skill.
If you work for a branch of Local Government, you can register here and configure the data feeds from your Open Data portal. We recommend connecting with your Geographic Information Systems (GIS) division at your organization, or working with your Communications team to set up Q11 for your city.
If you are a citizen and wondering if Q11 is available for your city, check this map to see, or enable the skill on your Alexa enabled devices by saying, “Alexa, enable Q11”.
If Q11 isn’t available in your City yet, get in touch with your Councillor or contact your city directly to get them involved.
Yes! After you’ve created your Qwhery.cloud account, you are given the option to use your existing data feeds if they match the Q11 feed specification guide, or turn on “Field Mapping”.
Field Mapping helps Q11 understand what columns to look at when providing information to residents through the skill.
We recommend following the feed specification guide, but if there are circumstances that won’t allow you to publish dedicated feeds for Q11, turn on Field Mapping.