This study investigates the factors influencing public engagement with community reporting systems for environmental and infrastructural issues in Malaysia, addressing long-standing challenges related to trust, transparency, and user participation. Leveraging a quantitative survey of 120 diverse respondents, business intelligence (BI) dashboard analytics and statistical validation are applied to identify and analyze the factors that influence the public’s willingness to engage with community reporting systems. The BI analysis revealed that factors of motivation such as the desire to improve the community and promote public safety, strongly influence willingness to report, while external factors like rewards are much less effective. Usability features, particularly those benefiting younger, urban users, emerged as important facilitators, whereas privacy concerns and uncertainty about follow-up actions remained prominent barriers. Spearman’s correlation analysis confirmed trust as the most significant predictor of engagement (ρ = 0.634, p < .001), with motivation and system usability (ease of use) also contributing positively, but awareness and perceived barriers exerting limited effect. These findings highlight the need to build trust through transparent data practices and reporting mechanisms, while improving usability with intuitive system features. User training efforts should also be tailored to address privacy concerns and demographic differences. This integrated approach offers practical guidance for designing more inclusive and responsive digital reporting platforms, while improving community engagement and supporting proactive risk management aligned with sustainable development goals.