As an engagement strategist still recovering from chronic burnout as a result of my organizing efforts for the Boston Police Department and Neighbors for Neighbors (facilitating 250+ meetings a year for many years), I avoid spending entire Saturday afternoons at civic events like the plague. To my surprise, something extraordinary happened yesterday. I ended upRead… Read more »
By Alex Moll, Communications Officer, eRulemaking Program Management Office Next week, the eRulemaking Program Management Office (PMO) will release the first installment in a series of website developments scheduled over the course of 2012 as part of a redesign of Regulations.gov. The substantial redesign aims to effectively re-launch Regulations.gov to meet the goals of SectionRead… Read more »
Summary. Last night I had the distinct honor and privilege to participate in the White House State of the Union TweetUp. I arrived in my capacity as a private citizen and student from American University (AU). Earlier in the day, as a fellow invited Tweep (i.e., a fun moniker for those of us who microRead… Read more »
The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) have put out a joint response to the recent White House call for input. It’s very solid, so please make sure to read it in full: Strengthening the Public Participation Elements of the Open Government Plan (PDF). Especially noteworthy is aRead… Read more »
If not, they should be! Almost everyday I see a different GovLoop member stressing the importance of online engagement in government as a tool for better customer service. As governments seek to serve citizens with more information online, are they contributing to our information overdose…or providing a quick hit that helps us more immediately? TakeRead… Read more »
The White House has announced a new way for citizens to petition the federal government to take action, through the “We the People” initiative. This is a really cool citizen engagement initiative coming out of the White House. Individuals will be able to either create or sign a petition and if they can get 5,00Read… Read more »
Last week, I had the opportunity to present for the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) summer meeting along with Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. Earlier this year, he announced that Baltimore County would be launching 23 technology initiatives and he shared a bit about their social media efforts to communicate more effectively with citizens onRead… Read more »
What is knowledge? “Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something, that can include descriptions, facts, information and/or skills acquired through experience or education”, according to Wikipedia. Ben Franklin revealed, “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” What does knowledge have to do with customer service? Consider this, have you ever been toRead… Read more »
This post was co-written by GovLoop’s own Joseph Porcelli and Lauri Stevens. You’ve likely seen the pictures and videos from Vancouver: the looting, the beatings, the couple kissing. And how can we forget the videos of the few courageous citizens who, in the midst of the violence and chaos, stood up for their community? AfterRead… Read more »
Could this be the future? Brian Heaton of Government Technology wrote Wednesday that at least one local government will soon be offering online training to educate citizens on how to use their new and improved website. The Community Digital Forum, to be held Wednesday, June 29, will feature hands-on instruction on how to navigate theRead… Read more »