Yearly Archives: 2014

Creating Innovation Offices That Work

A new report, “A Guide for Making Innovation Offices Work,” details the models, methods, and metrics of how government agencies are incorporating innovation into their bureaucracies. Innovation offices are being established by many governments—including cities (Austin, Philadelphia, Chicago), states (Maryland, Colorado, and Pennsylvania), and federal agencies (NARA, HHS, State Department).  But not all offices areRead… Read more »

Why Innovate?

Innovation means doing something different to get a better result, to produce more value for a customer. Innovation solves problems that have eluded solutions. It can unleash commitment and change organizational cultures. So if innovation is all that, why not innovate? Government innovates every day. Legislation starts with a problem and ends with a solution. Then agenciesRead… Read more »

former federal CIO Steve VanRoekel at GeekWire

DorobekINSIDER: 6 Reasons Silicon Valley Can’t Fix Government

Hey there. I’m Christopher Dorobek — the DorobekINSIDER — and welcome GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER… where we focus on six words: Helping government do its job better. On GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER: Living in a Mobile World – lessons learned from ACT-IAC’s mobile apps fair: Some of the big takeaways from the app fair, emphasizing how government organizations areRead… Read more »

Keep Your City Running with Data and GIS

There are some basic features—things like buildings, water systems, parks, roads, electrical lines and buildings—that comprise the infrastructure of any city. And many people, myself included, often think of these as static features within the city landscape. However, if you work in state or local government, you know that’s not the case. The infrastructure ofRead… Read more »

Leadership and…Barrel Racing?

Horse riders galloping through a rodeo arena, swiftly twisting and turning around barrel obstacles, racing to finish in 20 seconds or less. Go too fast, you risk getting bucked. Go too slow, you won’t win. This, my friends, is barrel racing. Like the intricacies of this wild sport, state and local governments face unique challenges.Read… Read more »

What Does it Mean to Be Secure?

The following blog post is an excerpt from a recent GovLoop guide: Your Cybersecurity Crash Course. We solicited the GovLoop community to learn their top cyber challenges and the report, we answer 12 of their most pressing cyber questions.   Maintaining and protecting valuable assets are two of government’s most important tasks. Your agency may very well hold crucialRead… Read more »

This County Made Their Finances Transparent and You Can Too

It’s common knowledge that sometimes the sheer size of state and local government can make it hard to track how resources are being used. And it’s not surprising that taxpayers want to know exactly how their hard-earned money is being spent. A 2011 Gallup poll that found that American taxpayers believe that state governments waste 42Read… Read more »

State of Immigration Reform in the States

In the past year, state policymakers and Congress introduced nearly one thousand bills dealing with immigration. These bills cover a range of issues, from suspending deportations of legalization-eligible youth to proposing STEM green card programs for the employment of highly-skilled foreign workers in the information technology industry. Caving to pressure from the Democratic party, PresidentRead… Read more »

Why Ask Questions?

The average four-year-old girl asks 390 questions per day, mostly to her mother. Yep, you read that right. Three hundred ninety. Sorry, Mom. Warren Berger, our keynote speaker at GovLoop’s State and Local Innovators Virtual Summit and author of A More Beautiful Question, said this number isn’t all that surprising. At that young age, childrenRead… Read more »