I find this stuff so you don’t have to: The learning organization: an often-described, but seldom-observed phenomenon | Harold Jarche – “What should a true learning organisation look like?” Connecting and engaging inside your organisation – “Social networks are inherently bottom up and user powered. In IBM, BlueIQ worked because it had buy-in from theRead… Read more »
Why is it so hard for governments to adopt innovative new technologies? Why does the public sector lag so far behind the private sector in leveraging new technology to create efficiencies? As an organization that works at the intersection of government and technology, these are questions we hear a lot at Code for America. ThroughRead… Read more »
By my count there are seven golf courses located in the Town of Amherst, NY (a suburb of Buffalo, population 116,000). Four of the courses are privately owned and three are owned and operated by the Town of Amherst. As reported in the Buffalo News, since 2009 the town owned courses have lost $1 millionRead… Read more »
Citizen-led “unconference” brings innovation and cooperation to the capital city June 1, 2, and 3, 2012. Raleigh, NC—CityCamp Raleigh announced the second annual, city-focused “unconference” that unites government, business, neighborhood, non-profit, and academic communities to create next-generation solutions for Raleigh. The event highlights the power of participation, promotes open source in local government and exploresRead… Read more »
An article in AZcentral.com highlights innovative efforts undertaken by local governments in Arizona: – The city of Mesa eliminated some departments and challenged the rest to rethink how they operate. One of the earliest results was a proposal from the Fire Department to stop sending large engines and four-person crews to every medical call. TheRead… Read more »
A few weeks ago, Code for America unveiled one of our latest program offerings: Engagement Commons. Now, we’re hoping that the talented, dedicated members of the GovLoop community can help us take this project to the next level. What is Engagement Commons? With civic engagement becoming an increasingly critical component of successful governance in theRead… Read more »
In Eugene, Oregon, the Co-Intelligence Institute is engineering a community-focused process to increase local capacity for healthy, creative group dialogue. By combining trainings and workshops with a series of dialogues around a substantive issue — in this case, the economy — we plan to demonstrate the generative power of group process even as we stimulateRead… Read more »
One positive effect of transparency in the public sector is that it gives city and county government an opportunity to assess current practices and make needed changes. Given the increase in public records requests and the scrutiny from the White House on down to the local level, there is no doubt constituents want more accessRead… Read more »
Weston Florida is an affluent suburb 25 miles northwest of Miami. When Weston was incorporated in 1996, its residents approved a charter that states the city must use contractors as opposed to city employees to perform traditional government services, unless four out of five councilmembers vote to make an exception. As a Governing article reportsRead… Read more »
I remember learning two things from video games in the classroom: how to sell lemonade and make it through the Oregon Trail. Today, students are learning about civics with a new game called Counties Work, designed to increase knowledge of county government. In the game, players act as an elected county decision maker, choosing howRead… Read more »