In the year’s following Hurricane Katrina, federal and state disaster response programs were subjected to a major overhaul in practices to produce a more effective and efficient structure in combating the possibility of devastation. A major consideration in these changes was the role that could [and should] be played by the private sector during aRead… Read more »
Jennifer Pahlka of Code for America has a brilliant TED discussion. Can government be run like the Internet, permissionless and open? Coder and activist Jennifer Pahlka believes it can — and that apps, built quickly and cheaply, are a powerful new way to connect citizens to their governments — and their neighbors. Filed under: Bureaucracy,Read… Read more »
On today’s program for Thursday May 10th, 2012 How to succeed in government leadership — and yes, that includes political leadership. We’ll talk to Paul Lawrence, one of the authors of the new book, Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government. Big data — it’s the latest buzz word floating around government. ButRead… Read more »
The City of Philadelphia through an Executive Order issued by Mayor Nutter, recently adopted an Open Data Policy, which can serve as a template for other communities. The Philadelphia Open Data Policy includes the following items: – A commitment to openness and transparency in government; – Establishment of an Open Data Working Group consisting ofRead… Read more »
**This post and guide is brought to you by CivicPlus – which has designed more than 1,100 local government websites serving 42 million citizens throughout North America*** Two weeks ago, I was in Joplin, MO for a hackathon hosted by CivicPlus and City of Joplin where 9 teams competed over the weekend to help create theRead… Read more »
My hometown City of Tampa just re-launched their website today so thought I’d write a little review. Pros -Love the new big focus on search and key terms up top -Love how we’ve moved from just a series of links to highlighting the top key areas -Love the background image showing the beauty of tampaRead… Read more »
This post is the first in an upcoming series of posts about civic startups. What’s a civic startup? Find out. Code for America recently launched a civic startup accelerator to help promote and “turbo charge” civic startups. We’re accepting applications for the accelerator now through June 1. Apply: codeforamerica.org/accelerator Jonathan Wegener is founder/CEO of Timehop.com,Read… Read more »
Duluth, MN (September 28, 2011): Innovative community safety efforts that have reduced crime, eliminated blight and renewed economic vitality in Duluth neighborhoods are being recognized on Wednesday with a national MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Award. The Duluth Police Department and two local organizations were selected for first-place recognition from among 700 applicants for one ofRead… Read more »
LocalGovCamp is returning! It will be held on Saturday, July 14th in Birmingham – venue to be confirmed. Sign up for an early bird ticket here. Thanks to the UKGovCamp fund and Talk About Local who are early sponsors. If you want to throw some cash at a seriously cool bunch of local government innovators,Read… Read more »
Every year the Reason Foundation releases an Annual Privatization Report 2011 which provides a great overview of the privatization and public-private partnerships taking place in local governments across the country. Highlights include: 57 percent of city finance officers report their cities were less able to meet their financial needs in 2011 than in 2010 whileRead… Read more »