How many hours per day to you spend dealing with paper? One hour? Two hours? For many in state and local government, it can actually be upwards of six hours a day! That’s too much time dedicated to printing, filing and searching for information when you could be doing more important, mission-critical tasks. Fortunately, emerging technologyRead… Read more »
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 »
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 »
From new citizen engagement strategies and mobile apps to doing more with less, state and local governments are continuously finding innovative solutions to really tough issues. There are countless examples of state and local governments leveraging technology and tackling challenges in a proactive, inventive and agile way — and we’re here to highlight them. Wednesday,Read… Read more »
Ever tried filling out an online form via your mobile phone and then suddenly became angry at the company for not having a mobile version of its website? If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. And federal agencies are recognizing this shift to mobile browsers and apps. David Yang, Vice President of ICF Interactive, andRead… Read more »
How can social media make government more transparent while minimizing legal risk? At this point, most public agencies employ at least one or two social media platforms and understand their value. They may tout their cool Facebook pages as pre-teens scoff and double-tap photos on Instagram, but any social media presence is better than noRead… Read more »
As state and local government employees, you face some tough IT obstacles. You have to build digital solutions to meet constituent demand, and design IT systems and architectures to support new services – all in an environment of tight budgets and limited staff. But by conquering these challenges, you can improve the community planning andRead… Read more »
As we approach the 151 anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address[1], certainly one of the most significant orations ever delivered, we do well to remember the closing; the very end of the last of the ten simple and deeply moving sentences that make up the Address. In these few, memorable words, a war-weary Lincoln charges allRead… Read more »
Innovation in government only sounds like an oxymoron to people who haven’t kept up with the work of government employees at all levels. The distinct challenge of nurturing innovative ideas in the public sector made my job description so interesting when I applied. Last month, I celebrated two years as a government contractor and communication lead —Read… Read more »
“You are clearly not intimated by ‘big’ if you work for the federal government.” That’s how Scott Burns, CEO and founder of GovDelivery, kicked off his keynote at GovDelivery’s 8th Annual Federal Communications Summit on Tuesday. Burns pointed out that people had always told him not to take on federal clients — they were tooRead… Read more »