Local governments are considered “laboratories of democracy” — the places where ideas are generated, tried, and evaluated. Instead of relying on just the one, decidedly cumbersome national government to generate new policy, the founders crafted a flexible federal structure, where the more numerous and more nimble states and cities could experiment on their own andRead… Read more »
I love government. Mostly for the vast majority of public servants, who are bright, devoted, and highly creative in a difficult organizational structure. I also think – which won’t be surprising given the business that I am in – that fostering innovation in the public sector should be encouraged at every turn. I want publicRead… Read more »
Workplaces in the private sector and the public sector have many similarities. After all, objectives need to be met and daily work needs to get accomplished. Through our experience with business process management we have identified five major differences between sectors: The Election Cycle Term Limits Legislative Controls Human Resources Structures Revenue is usually notRead… Read more »
By Gadi Dechter Associate Director of Government ReformCenter for American Progress This is the second in a series of weekly dispatches from the District of Columbia’s information technology department, which is transforming into a “results-only work environment” where employees can work where they want, when they want—so long as they meet predefined goals. Washington’s 35-year-oldRead… Read more »
Originally posted at my blog http://wethegoverati.wordpress.com Last month I attended the Belfer Center’s Conference on Technology and Governance 2.0. The conference featured amazing attendees – Ellen Miller (Sunlight), Mike Klein (Sunlight), Karen Gordon Mills (US Small Business Administration), Mitch Kapor (Electronic Frontier Foundation), Paul Sagan (Akamai), Susan Crawford (Cardozo), Jonathan Zittrain (Harvard), Nicco Mele (Harvard/EchoRead… Read more »
Many government officials including mayors, council members, city administrators, public purchasing officials, CIO (IT) directors, and more are looking for ways to provide services and not layoff workers. Today, there is not enough tax revenue available to support budgets. There is an option–it’s called the Transitional Benefits Corporation Methodwhich provides real opportunities for continued governmentRead… Read more »
Consultant and author, Judy Bradt entered the world of government contracting when she served as Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC. In 15 years time she became Canada’s top expert helping more than 5,000 firms win over $200 million in US government contracts. She also launched www.sell2usgov.ca, Canada’s top online resource forRead… Read more »
Nonprofit Code for America was founded to help the brightest minds of the Web 2.0 generation transform local governments. What if, instead of cutting services or raising taxes, your town could leverage the power of the Web to become more efficient, transparent, and participatory? Stop by the Code for America booth (129) in the ExhibitRead… Read more »
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided government agencies with great opportunities to spend money on their local projects. The President’s new initiatives also require accountability. With these new expectations in place, it would not be prudent to spend the funds wildly. However, as is often the case, the funds will only existRead… Read more »
Gadi Ben-Yehuda People are paying to play a game while it’s being written. What are the lessons for government? Perhaps that people are willing to pay for unfinished services provided that their input has an impact on the final product. National Public Radio (NPR) released the results of its Twitter survey. What does the profileRead… Read more »