Let’s put this as neutrally as possible. People interact with public services. Now, here’s a simple question: what should we call those people – and why? Perhaps it’s not such a simple question after all. They – we – are many things. We are patients, customers, passengers, swimmers, clients, taxpayers, claimants and more (as wellRead… Read more »
With any government program, project, or initiative, you can’t just rely on an “if you build it, they will come” strategy. If nobody knows about your initiatives or projects, they can’t make a difference. To be truly successful at your job to drive engagement with these programs, you have to capture people while they areRead… Read more »
When was the last time you managed the redesign of your web content? It is an endeavor that may strike fear in the heart of even the most ardent web content manager. Yet is a necessary evil. The need to update web content occurs for two reasons: some of the web content has become obsoleteRead… Read more »
Gov.uk set an example and others followed In 2012, the Government Digital Service team launched a new home for the Cabinet of the United Kingdom replacing two sites: directgov and business link, and it was truly simple. No unnecessary imagery, homepage flashiness or marketing ploys. On gov.uk, you find information related to government services, andRead… Read more »
On April 23, we launched our new home page design (http://www.epa.gov). Among other changes, we reworked our banners at the top. It used to look like this screen shot: To change banners, you clicked the numbers. Heat maps showed that people did use the numbers to move among the banners, and other analytics confirmed peopleRead… Read more »
A few days ago, we highlighted the redesign of nyc.gov as a great case study in the use of good design to better accomplish agency goals. Of course, reading a case study and adopting a new approach are two different things. That’s why we decided to dig deeper into the topic. Kate Watts is ManagingRead… Read more »
The new, device flexible, user-centric nyc.gov. Image courtesy of Huge. Our governments – local, state and federal – are very good at doing a lot of things. National defense. Waste and sewage. Collecting taxes. So why can’t they consistently create decent websites? Today, websites and mobile applications are often the first and only direct linkRead… Read more »
The Paint Branch High School is special. Years ago they decided that their annual science fair shouldn’t just be a checkoff on a list and started redesigning their event. They looked at why no one came and decided to move it from the middle of the day to the evening to make it easier forRead… Read more »
Spending in the federal government is down. Sequestration has put a serious drain on many agency resources, but could the money squeeze actually create a breeding ground for innovation? In part two of our interview, with the first Chief Innovation Officer at NARA, Pamela Wright, told Chris Dorobek that the smaller budgets are forcing aRead… Read more »
Innovation is one of those Rorschach terms, where innovation means different things to different people. Even amongst Chief Innovation Officers the role of innovation at an agency can vary greatly. So what really makes an innovative program? Pamela Wright is the first ever Chief Innovation Officer at NARA. She was also named one of FCW’sRead… Read more »