How do you tackle a large-scale, complex challenge that evolves over time, involves thousands of stakeholders, and where there is no clear solution? For example, is there a road map for how the Internet evolved? Could we do it again? IBM Center author David Witzel examines the evolution of the Internet over the past fourRead… Read more »
This post is part of NCDD Book Club series on Democratizing Deliberation published by the Kettering Foundation last month. In this post, we discuss Bernard Yack’s chapter about Aristotle’s understanding of political deliberation and how it compares to the views of today’s deliberative democracy advocates. The authors of this blog post are Sarah Read ofRead… Read more »
Washington this week is on the edge of its collective seats about the pending decision by the Supreme Court of the United States about the Affordable Care Act and whether the provisions are constitutional. That decision could come as soon as today, but just about everybody expects a decision by the end of the week.Read… Read more »
GovLoop recently hosted an online training sponsored by Oracle, “Optimizing Government Services with Big Data.” There was a great discussion on how agencies should acquire, organize, and analyze diverse data sources, as well as real examples of organizations improving service and cutting costs through Big Data. Speakers included: Jeanne Holm, Evangelist, Data.gov, U.S. General ServicesRead… Read more »
A recent report by the CBC has pegged the cost of federal public service absenteeism at $1B per year. According to the CBC story, the average public servant is taking 18 days a year in sick leave, double what their private sector counterpart does in that same year. While the story does discuss fairly obviousRead… Read more »
Deanna Pogorelc (Philadelphia, PA) — Over the next few years, we’ll likely be seeing more stories along the lines of Merck’s $90 million translational research center for scientists, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists; Sanofi’s partnership with Third Rock Ventures to launch a new biotech company; and Johnson & Johnson, GSK and Index Ventures’ new investment fund.Read… Read more »
Every community has a physical infrastructure – the streets and roads and sewer lines that connect buildings and allow cities to buzz and grow. But every place also has a civic infrastructure: the social connections, decision-making processes, and formal and informal networks that allow residents to solve problems, work together, and build a thriving community.Read… Read more »
Telecommuting is a great option for the agency and the employee. It can improve continuity of operations and morale. There are cautions, however, as shown in a recent article from the MIT Sloan Management Review. What I took away was adivce for when you are telecommuting Stay in touch when you are out of theRead… Read more »
I decided I was going to read a book a week for a year, here’s a quick review of this week’s book. You can see the ongoing list here. Basic Info The Paradox Of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz Why I read it It’s been lingering on my “to read” list sinceRead… Read more »
Businesses understand the importance of making interactions with customers as easy as possible. Most local governments have a long way to go as far as improving their approach to customer service. Recognizing that government is complicated, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched a Business Customer Service Initiative to make it easier for businessesRead… Read more »