Congress Simplifying a Process? Making Prizes more attractive to the Federal Government…

Prizes and competitions provide one way to stimulate innovation and tap “solver communities” that may not have been leveraged previously when considering some of our nation’s grand challenges (see my blog posting from the White House/ Case Foundation event on prizes and competitions in April where I discuss this assertion in more detail). Building onRead… Read more »

Hack Days: What expectations do they set?

I love Hack Days. I love them because of the anticipation, the spontaneity, the community and the creativity. They generate energy – if for a short time – around the issues they are organised to expose, and for a brief moment overcome the inertia that most people come to dread within large organisations – likeRead… Read more »

Gov 2.0 Radio Hot Links – August 9, 2010

Life’s a game, Internet’s a game: Sen. Kate Lundy: Speech to the Technology in Government and the Public Sector conference Kristin Burnham: A Victory for Social Media – Inside the Election of Columbia’s New President Richard Abshire: Dallas Police Chief David Brown urges social media to catch ‘unrepentant criminals’ CivSource: New Open 311 integration toolkitRead… Read more »

How to Ensure Effective Outreach

How many spokespeople does your organization have? How many officials from your organization are tasked with ‘spreading the word,’ and talking with different constituents about your mission, the services and support you provide, or new programs that you’re implementing? When it comes to implementing effective outreach, it is crucial that every spokesperson for your organizationRead… Read more »

Cloud Computing–How High Should Government Fly?

The information technology industry has fallen head over heels when it comes to cloud computing. Many analysts have weighed in on the inevitability of shutting down your outdated server room and shifting to services that are hosted on the Internet at a remote data center. It’s hard to argue against the cloud computing trend, especiallyRead… Read more »

Online school absentee tracking

Our Public Health Unit is looking at initiating an online school absenteeism tracking system next month. Each school in our catchment area would be asked to submit a daily report of the number of students who are absent (including those both due to illness and those due to other reasons). Area schools are willing toRead… Read more »

San Francisco City Attorney’s Office on Flickr

Of late, I’ve been been using the photo sharing site Flickr more and more, shifting my focus from researching its 4 billion images to uploading fresh content and networking through the site. Flickr has tremendous functionality for creating blog content and populating other social media platforms as well. I’ve got a recent post about usingRead… Read more »

How do you relate to the public?

When you think of the stakeholders you serve, how would you describe your connection to them? Empathy, apathy, animosity, appreciation, or something else? We’ve been working on customer / client focus at GovDelivery, and we’ve gone through some healthy exercises that have me on the lookout for how I’m being treated as a citizen andRead… Read more »

Can You Hear The Question President Obama is Asking You?

According to the Wall Street Journalʼs Economy section of Sundayʼs edition, there is a growing sense among many economists that Washingtonʼs ability to goose the economic recovery is limited, especially given the deep pain U.S. businesses and households have suffered during the recession. Thursday July 29th at the Washington DC Convention Center, President Obama spokeRead… Read more »

Digital Signage and Reforestation – An Unlikely Partnership

Digital Signage and Reforestation – An Unlikely Partnership Plays Key Role in the Reforestation of Florida State Forest The 2009 Florida wildfires left their mark on forests, but Noventri played a key role in assisting in the reforestation of the land through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and purchases of the SF-100e digitalRead… Read more »