Communications

GoodNeighbors.net – Mapping Human and Tangible Resources

GoodNeighbors.net is a web-based database free for anyone to use to pool and publish alphabetized lists of resources and track frequency, levels and types of engagement at the grassroots. It was developed as an on-line Open Space architecture where individuals and groups function as a whole integrated system at all levels of community. Enter NCDDRead… Read more »

Should Local Government Offices Develop Customer Service Plans?

On April 27, 2011, President Obama issued an Executive Order titled Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service. The Order directed each federal agency within 180 days to develop a Customer Service Plan that addresses how the agency will provide services in a manner that seeks to streamline service delivery and improve the experience ofRead… Read more »

Yearning for a Quality Web Experience

Http://LeonardSipes.Com Holly Finn from The Wall Street Journal writes about Humanizing the Web where she addresses deeper meanings from the online experience. The Internet is blazingly fast with people who run madly from page to page; skimming and not reading. The pace is tiring and the online experience becomes less than satisfying. We yearn forRead… Read more »

University of Illinois Funds New Research on Citizens’ Role in Public Policy

From Newswise: “Five research projects at the University of Illinois at Chicago dealing with the citizen’s role in public policy have each received a $20,000 award. The awards, given by the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, are funding faculty research aimed at improving citizen participation in government services, often through the use ofRead… Read more »

Blue Lion Training Seeks Intern!

We are looking for an intern! It is an unpaid internship in Massachusetts and is a best fit for one looking for increased exposure to environmental field skills, communications and policy/regulation. A basic environmental background is a plus. If interested or know someone that is, please email me at [email protected] to start the conversation. FeelRead… Read more »

Living Labs Global Awards Seeks Nominees

Here’s a post via Games for Change. Many of the suggested examples cited involve public engagement; it’d be wonderful to see an innovation of that kind be recognized through the LL program! “Living Labs Global is looking for innovative solutions for the challenges presented by 20 cities across the world. For example, Sant Cugat inRead… Read more »

Hadoop Quickstart: Build a Cluster In The Cloud In 20 Minutes Or Less

Editor’s note: The tips Bryan Halfpap provides below really work. I stood up a working Hadoop Cluster in under 20 minutes, from cold iron to production ready, using just his guidance and a Rackspace account. bg I’ve been working with Apache Hadoop in my lab, spending much of that with CDH3 (the Cloudera Distribution includingRead… Read more »

Open Government Consultation

In the spirit of openness, I have decided to publicly share my open-ended responses to the ongoing Canadian Open Government Consultation, which has been taking place since December 6th, 2011 and is scheduled to end January 16th, 2012. The consultation covers questions on Open Data, Open Information, Open Dialogue and the Open Government Strategy. IfRead… Read more »