Public sector · Power BI template
City Service Requests (311) Power BI template
Dark Power BI 311 / council service request dashboard template: received vs closed, SLA by department, requests per 1,000 residents, oldest open cases.
By Nawaf Sharaf · Founder & Reliability Engineer · Updated
Free for commercial useLight version: same layout, colours re-solved and checked for WCAG AA contrast.
BetaOpens in Power BI Desktop with 5 tables of sample data and every visual bound. See what’s inside
Free, no sign-up. The PBIP with sample data includes the background, theme and a README. 1920×1080 fits a new page in a Fluent 2 report; 1280×720 and 2× fit Classic pages. Downloads carry a small “Made with VizForge” mark (sign in to the studio to remove it).
- Layout
- Plain header, 4 KPIs beside a received-vs-closed trend, request-type treemap + 2 bar charts + oldest-open table
- Page size
- 1280×720 px (16:9, Power BI default)
- Theme
- Forest Night
Open the sample-data PBIP in Power BI Desktop
Checked against Microsoft Learn's Power BI Desktop projects documentation (as of Nov 2026).
- 1
Unzip to a short path and open the .pbip
Extract the zip to a short local folder such as C:\PBI (Windows limits project paths to 260 characters, and Desktop can't save a project straight to OneDrive or SharePoint), then double-click the .pbip file or use File → Open in Power BI Desktop. Microsoft still lists projects and TMDL as preview features (as of Nov 2026): if Desktop won't open the project, go to File → Options and settings → Options → Preview features, tick “Power BI Project (.pbip) save option” and “Store semantic model using TMDL format”, then restart Desktop.
- 2
Select Refresh once
The project ships without the local data cache (.pbi/cache.abf), so Desktop opens the full model definition without data. Select Home → Refresh: every table is built from values written into its Power Query step, so there is no data source to sign in to.
- 3
Save as .pbix or connect your data
Use File → Save as to keep a single .pbix file, or open Transform data and replace each table's Source step with your own query, keeping the column names so the measures and visuals keep working.
What’s inside the 311 Service Request sample model
Rendered from the same definition the download writes as TMDL, so this list always matches the file.
Sixteen weeks of resident service requests (311-style) for a fictional city council, to the end of October 2026: 480 requests across 12 request types in five departments and six districts, with the channel, close date, days to close, whether the service-level target was met and, for open requests, their age. Units: Requests; days; rates per 1,000 residents.
Tables and columns
Calendar
Date table · 2026, one row per dayDate table generated in Power Query (List.Dates), marked as the model's date table.
- Date (date)
- Year (whole number)
- Quarter (text)
- Month (text)
- Month Name (text)
- Week Start (date)
- Weekday (text)
- Fiscal Year (text)
Department
Dimension · 5 rowsCouncil service departments.
- Department (text)
Request Type
Dimension · 12 rowsRequest types with the owning department and the service-level target in days.
- Request Type (text)
- Department (text)
- SLA Days (whole number)
District
Dimension · 6 rowsFictional city districts with population.
- District (text)
- Population (whole number)
Requests
Fact · 480 rowsOne row per service request. Closed Date, Days to Close and Within SLA are blank while open; Days Open is set for open requests (as of 31 Oct 2026).
- Reference (text)
- Date (date)
- Request Type (text)
- District (text)
- Channel (text)
- Closed Date (date)
- Days to Close (whole number)
- Within SLA (whole number)
- Days Open (whole number)
Relationships
Many-to-one, single direction. Inactive relationships are switched on inside a measure with USERELATIONSHIP.
- Requests[Date] → 'Calendar'[Date]
- Requests[Closed Date] → 'Calendar'[Date](inactive)
- Requests[Request Type] → 'Request Type'[Request Type]
- 'Request Type'[Department] → Department[Department]
- Requests[District] → District[District]
DAX measures
All measures live in a dedicated Key Measures table. Copy any of them into your own model; rename the table and column references to match.
Requests ReceivedRequests opened.
Requests Received =
COUNTROWS ( Requests )Format string: #,0
Requests ClosedRequests closed, counted in the period they closed.
Requests Closed =
CALCULATE ( COUNTROWS ( Requests ), USERELATIONSHIP ( Requests[Closed Date], 'Calendar'[Date] ) )Format string: #,0
Within SLA %Closed requests that met their service-level target.
Within SLA % =
DIVIDE ( SUM ( Requests[Within SLA] ), CALCULATE ( COUNTROWS ( Requests ), NOT ISBLANK ( Requests[Closed Date] ) ) )Format string: 0%
Median Days to CloseMedian days from report to close.
Median Days to Close =
MEDIAN ( Requests[Days to Close] )Format string: 0.0
Open BacklogRequests still open.
Open Backlog =
CALCULATE ( COUNTROWS ( Requests ), ISBLANK ( Requests[Closed Date] ) )Format string: #,0
Age of Open RequestDays the open request has waited.
Age of Open Request =
MAX ( Requests[Days Open] )Format string: 0
Requests per 1,000 ResidentsRequests normalised by district population.
Requests per 1,000 Residents =
DIVIDE ( [Requests Received], SUM ( District[Population] ) ) * 1000Format string: 0.0
What each visual is bound to
The PBIP opens with these fields already on each visual.
| Visual | Type | Fields |
|---|---|---|
| DepartmentSlicer | Slicer | Department[Department] |
| DistrictSlicer | Slicer | District[District] |
| Requests receivedCard | Card | [Requests Received] |
| Closed within SLACard | Card | [Within SLA %] |
| Received vs closed by weekLine chart | Line chart | Calendar[Week Start], [Requests Received], [Requests Closed] |
| Median days to closeCard | Card | [Median Days to Close] |
| Open backlogCard | Card | [Open Backlog] |
| Requests by typeTreemap | Treemap | 'Request Type'[Request Type], [Requests Received] |
| SLA met by departmentBar chart | Bar chart | Department[Department], [Within SLA %] |
| Requests per 1,000 residentsBar chart | Bar chart | District[District], [Requests per 1,000 Residents] |
| Oldest open requestsTable | Table | Requests[Reference], 'Request Type'[Request Type], District[District], Requests[Channel], [Age of Open Request] |
Questions this dashboard answers
Each one is answered by a visual on the page, from the sample model's own tables and measures.
- Are we closing requests as fast as residents report them?
- Which departments miss their service-level targets most often?
- Which districts report the most issues per 1,000 residents?
- Which open requests are oldest and need escalating?
About this dashboard layout
Resident service requests (311 in North America, “report it” forms for UK councils) are a flow: issues come in, crews close them, and the backlog is the difference. The top row puts the four cards (received, closed within the service-level target, median days to close and open backlog) beside a weekly line of requests received against requests closed.
Closed requests are counted in the week they closed through an inactive relationship on the close date, so the two lines are comparable; counting closures by the date opened would make every recent week look slow.
The bottom row breaks the work down. The treemap shows request types (potholes, missed bins, fly-tipping, street lights and more), SLA met by department is sorted worst first, and requests per 1,000 residents uses each district's population, so a large district does not look worse simply for being large. The table lists the oldest open requests with type, district and channel for the escalation meeting.
The sample is 16 weeks of requests for a fictional city with six districts and five departments; service-level targets sit on the request-type table so each department can own its own.
Visuals on the page
Positions are Power BI page pixels. Enter them in Format → General → Properties → Size and position, or use the PBIP download where they are already set.
| Visual | Type | X | Y | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Slicer | 888 | 24 | 176 | 40 |
| District | Slicer | 1080 | 24 | 176 | 40 |
| Requests received | Card | 40 | 120 | 128 | 72 |
| Closed within SLA | Card | 256 | 120 | 120 | 72 |
| Received vs closed by week | Line chart | 464 | 120 | 776 | 192 |
| Median days to close | Card | 40 | 240 | 128 | 72 |
| Open backlog | Card | 256 | 240 | 120 | 72 |
| Requests by type | Treemap | 40 | 360 | 328 | 320 |
| SLA met by department | Bar chart | 416 | 360 | 208 | 320 |
| Requests per 1,000 residents | Bar chart | 672 | 360 | 200 | 320 |
| Oldest open requests | Table | 920 | 360 | 320 | 320 |
Custom visuals for this layout
Built-in Power BI visuals cover most slots above. These slots also suit a custom visual; each page covers the data shape, DAX and a prompt to generate it as a .pbiviz.
Slot: Requests received
KPI CardExecutive dashboard KPI row (revenue, customers, NPS, churn)
Slot: Requests by type
TreemapPortfolio composition (asset class → sector → position)
Already have a report?
Brand Makeover tries City Service Requests (311) first on every page of your Power BI project (.pbip zip) where it fits: the page's visuals have to go into its 9 data slots without overlaps. Pages it can't seat get another catalog layout or a brand grid. Queries, filters and bookmarks are left as they are. Free, in your browser.
Opens with the Analyst / Dense preset, because the Executive preset doesn't use this layout (9 data slots; this preset uses templates with at most 7).
Restyle my report into thisSwap a slot for a custom visual
Pick any slot and VizForge AI writes a custom visual (.pbiviz, with TypeScript source) sized to it, in this template's colours and shaped for the fields it is bound to.
Generate one that fits this layout.
Card · 128×72 px · bound to [Requests Received]
1, 2 or 5 credits depending on the brief · 5 free on signup. Sign in or create a free account on the next screen; the brief is saved for 30 minutes.
A Power BI card visual titled "Requests received". It sits in a 128×72 px slot on a designed report page. Match the report's brand: data colours #7CB88A, #A3E635, #E2B93B, #D98B5F, #6FB7E8, #C39BE0; background #122620; text #ECF3EE; font Segoe UI. Transparent visual background so the page design shows through; no visual border. In the sample model it is bound to [Requests Received]; keep the same data roles so the fields drop straight in.
Not sure what to build? Browse the visual catalog or open the template in the design studio and hand off any slot from there. Or start in the AI generator with a blank brief.
Colours and theme
Dark green Power BI theme: deep evergreen page, moss cards and sage, lime, gold and copper data colours for sustainability, ESG and energy dashboards.
Use the background in an existing report
Prefer to keep your own report? Apply the design to it instead of opening the PBIP.
- 1
Download the background
Take the 1920×1080 PNG for a new page in a Fluent 2 report (the default size for new pages), or the 2× PNG (2560×1440) for sharp text on a 1280×720 Classic page. Power BI scales the image to the canvas.
- 2
Set the canvas background
Format page → Canvas background → Browse. Set Image fit to Fill and transparency to 0%.
- 3
Import the theme
Design ribbon → Import theme (in the Power BI service: View → Theme pane), then pick the downloaded JSON. Data colours and fonts now match the design. Older Desktop builds: View → Themes → Browse for themes.
- 4
Place your visuals
Size each visual to the positions above with background and border off, or open the PBIP project where they are already placed.
Questions about this template
Does the City Service Requests (311) template come with sample data?
Yes. The “PBIP with sample data” download contains a semantic model with 5 tables and 7 DAX measures, and every visual on the page is already bound to it. The sample: Sixteen weeks of resident service requests (311-style) for a fictional city council, to the end of October 2026: 480 requests across 12 request types in five departments and six districts, with the channel, close date, days to close, whether the service-level target was met and, for open requests, their age. The data is written into each table's Power Query step, so there is no data source or sign-in.
Is it a .pbix file?
It is a Power BI project (PBIP): a folder of text files that Power BI Desktop opens like a .pbix. Open the .pbip file, select Refresh once to load the sample rows, then use File → Save as if you want a single .pbix.
What visuals are in the City Service Requests (311) template?
The page has 11 visual areas: 2 slicers, 4 cards, 1 line chart, 1 treemap, 2 bar charts, 1 table. Their exact positions are listed on this page so you can match them in Power BI's Format → General → Properties panel, or skip that step by downloading the PBIP project.
Which theme does the City Service Requests (311) template use?
It ships with the Forest Night theme (dark tone). Download the theme JSON here, or open the template in the design studio and switch to any other theme or your own brand colours.
Is there a light version of the City Service Requests (311) template?
Yes. Switch the preview to Light and every download (background, theme JSON and PBIP) comes in that version. The layout is identical; the page, card and text colours are re-solved for a light page, and the accent, status and data colours keep their hues but are adjusted until text meets WCAG AA (4.5:1) and chart colours reach 3:1 against the cards.
How do I use the background image in Power BI Desktop?
Select the page, open Format page → Canvas background, choose Browse and pick the PNG, then set Image fit to Fill and transparency to 0%. Give your visuals a transparent background and no border so the designed panels show through.
Can I open the PBIP project in Power BI Desktop?
Yes. PBIR is the default report format in Power BI Desktop since September 2026, and the download is a PBIP project: unzip it and open the .pbip file, select Refresh once and the sample data loads into visuals that are already bound (the empty PBIP leaves the containers unbound for your own data). Microsoft still lists projects and TMDL as preview features (as of Nov 2026), so if Desktop won't open it, enable them under File → Options and settings → Options → Preview features.
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KPI cards for this layout
Headline numbers drawn by one DAX SVG measure each, for the Card visual or a table row.
Want the headline numbers to look like cards rather than plain values? Browse the KPI card gallery or build your own in the SVG measure builder.
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Make the City Service Requests (311) template yours
Swap in your brand colours and logo, move panels, add icons and generate missing visuals with AI, then export the background, theme JSON and PBIP project.
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