Digital Government

Have You Tried Thinking With Your Hands?

“We have to understand that the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye…The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.” (Bronowski, 1973) Designing government Like most governments right now, we’re very excited about the potential of design to transform service delivery and policyRead… Read more »

Are We Individuals, Or Are We Really The Same?

Everyone has their own quirks and wonderful traits that make them just who they are. It’s part of what makes meeting new people so thrilling and exciting. But at the other end of the spectrum, we’re all human beings. We all must eat, drink, sleep to survive. At the end of the day, we’re reallyRead… Read more »

In Toys As In Data, Sharing is Caring

“Mine! Mine! Mine!” Despite my parents consistently emphasizing the importance of sharing, when it came to my Legos or other favorite toys, sharing wasn’t such a simple task. But as time went on, I got better at sharing and saw the benefits (and lack of scoldings) that it generated. The ability to share is anRead… Read more »

9 Valentine’s Cards for the Love of Your Life in Government

#GovLove is spreading this week. Send your co-worker the punny valentine of your dreams. direct.govloop.com/gov-vday-cards1 Love and government make strange bedfellows. What if the object of your infatuation happens to work for the government? These Valentine’s Day cards can help you win their love. There’s a lot of variety in these Valentine’s Day cards — you can find one justRead… Read more »

G2G (Gov to Gov) – Sharing Public Services and What Makes It Work

The concept of public agencies delivering services to one another is nothing new, but doesn’t happen as often as it could. Policy wonks, the media, elected officials, and agency managers all agree the concept makes sense: One public organization does something well, and shares that expertise with another public agency, at a cost that providesRead… Read more »

The Power of the Drip Part 2: Email Personalization and Relevancy

Developing a clear picture of the types of email subscribers you have is key to tailoring your messages to address the specific needs of each audience member. This means abandoning the traditional approach that “blasts” the same, long message filled with disparate content to your entire audience on a pre-determined schedule and employing a new… Read more »

4 More Tips for U.S. Digital Services & Agency Teams

Last August, when the U.S. Digital Services was announced, I wrote a blog post with 7 Ideas for the USDS. Yesterday, the White House announced in their 2016 budget a $100M program to expand digital services teams into 25 agencies. This is quite an impressive proposal and it also follows my first general tip forRead… Read more »

The 5 Most Unforgettable Blogs by Government Agencies

There’s been a lot of chatter lately about the “death of blogging” or about its already-in-progress resurrection. Yet a stroll around the blogosphere reveals a lively culture of content creation and sharing that seems untouched by any death throes. Blogging started as—and often, at its best, continues to be—an online personal journal perfect for oversharing. So, one might not think thatRead… Read more »