Citizen Engagement

Community-Specific Tools to Solve Civic Problems

Philadelphia is the fifth largest US city with a population of 1.5 million. The City sought a better way to serve and connect with its diverse community, and to empower its residents to participate in improving their quality of life. The City partnered with PublicStuff to supplement its 311 call center with an interactive mobile… Read more »

Driving Government Services via Customer Needs

What drives you? We all have different things that motivate us to work hard. Whether this stems from the inspiration you get from your kids or from a childhood goal you set at the age of ten, we all are driven by different motivations. Our passions are our fuel, and without them, we feel restlessRead… Read more »

In 7 Words or Less…What’s Your 2015 Prediction?

Wow.  2014 was a great year for government innovation.  We are in the middle of writing our end of year wrap-up guide highlighting 30 great case studies of government innovation from USGS drones to GSA smart building to State of Hawaii’s gamification website. And those are just the ones that made the cut for this guide –Read… Read more »

Improving Federal Customer Experience Is A National Security Imperative

Improving the U.S. federal customer experience (CX) is crucial to our nation’s long-term security. I’m not exaggerating. Improving federal CX is about far more than just boosting an agency’s ranking on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) or raising a Net Promoter Score. It’s even about more than influencing the success or failure of major policies –Read… Read more »

Innovation, From Outer Space to Overflowing Sewers

Prize competitions have led to incredible breakthroughs: naval navigation, architectural masterpieces like the Sydney Opera House, Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, and the commercialization of space travel. One of the first examples began in 1418 in Florence, Italy, when town officials issued a contest to build a dome for Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral – commonlyRead… Read more »

Recipe for a Citizen-Centric Report

Sugar, spices, eggs, measuring cup, mixing bowl, whisk. The recipe list can be endless when making your favorite cake, and the details are incredibly important. Each step is as vital as the last, up until the oven temperature and baking time. But what about the ingredients to an ideal financial report? Like a good recipe,Read… Read more »

Livestreaming Council Meetings on YouTube

Broadcasting meetings to residents live on the Internet needn’t cost the earth, as Monmouthshire County Council has demonstrated in recent weeks. The council has bypassed expensive monthly fees from livestreaming services by directly streaming meetings, from the council chamber in Usk, UK,  to YouTube.Joanna Goodwin, my colleague and friend from my time at Monmouthshire, worksRead… Read more »